Requirements Traceability Matrix
Starter+Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM) lets you define product requirements, link them to test cases, and instantly see your test coverage. Identify gaps, track status, and import requirements directly from Jira.
Overview
The RTM feature consists of two connected views:
- Requirements — Create and manage your product requirements. Each requirement gets a unique ID (e.g.
REQ-001), a priority level, status, and can be linked to multiple test cases. - Traceability Matrix — A grid view where rows are requirements and columns are test cases. Each cell shows the latest test result for that pairing: Passed, Failed, Blocked, or Untested.
Plan Limits — RTM
Requirements Management
Navigate to Project → Requirements to manage your requirements library. Click "+ New Requirement" to create one manually.
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Custom ID | Auto | Auto-generated (e.g. REQ-001). Cannot be set manually. |
| Title | Yes | A concise description of the requirement. E.g. "User can reset password via email". |
| Description | No | Detailed acceptance criteria or additional context for the requirement. |
| Priority | No | P1 (Critical), P2 (High), P3 (Medium), P4 (Low). Defaults to P3. |
| Category | No | Free-form grouping label (e.g. "Authentication", "Payments"). |
| Status | No | Draft → Active → Deprecated. New requirements start as Draft. |
| Parent | No | Assign a parent requirement to build a hierarchical structure (e.g. Epic → Story). |
Filtering & Search
Use the filter bar above the requirements list to narrow by Status, Priority, or Category. The search box matches against the requirement title and custom ID.
Linking Test Cases
A requirement can be linked to any number of test cases. A test case can also be linked to multiple requirements. There is no limit on link counts.
From the Requirements page
Click a requirement row to open its detail panel, then click "Link Test Cases". Search by test case title or ID and select the ones that verify this requirement. Add an optional note per link to document the coverage rationale.
Unlinking
Open the requirement detail panel and click the remove icon (×) next to any linked test case. The test case itself is not affected — only the link is removed.
Traceability Matrix
Navigate to Project → Traceability to open the matrix view. Rows represent requirements, columns represent linked test cases. Each cell displays the most recent test result for that requirement–test case pairing.
| Cell Status | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Passed | The most recent test run for this TC passed. | |
| Failed | The most recent result for this TC failed. | |
| Blocked | The TC was blocked in the most recent run. | |
| Untested | The TC is linked but has no result in any run yet. | |
| — (dash) | Linked but not yet included in any test run. |
Tip: Click any cell to jump directly to the test result detail for that run, letting you review failure notes and attachments without leaving the matrix.
Coverage Analysis
The coverage panel in the Requirements page shows, for each requirement, how many of its linked test cases have passed, failed, or are untested. A summary bar gives you an at-a-glance percentage.
Coverage Gap
A Coverage Gap is a requirement with zero linked test cases — meaning there is no testing evidence for it at all. The Requirements page flags these requirements with a warning badge so you can prioritize linking or creating TCs for them.
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Coverage % | Percentage of requirements that have at least one linked test case. |
| Passed % | Among covered requirements, the share whose linked TCs all have a Passed result. |
| Coverage Gaps | Count of requirements with no linked test cases. |
| Untested Links | Requirements that have linked TCs, but none have been executed yet. |
Jira Import
Import requirements directly from your Jira project. Each Jira issue becomes a Requirement in Testably, preserving the title, status, and a link back to the original issue.
Prerequisite
Jira must be connected first. Go to Settings → Integrations and add your Jira domain, email, and API token before using this feature.
- 1
Connect Jira
Go to Settings → Integrations and configure your Jira domain, email, and API token. This must be completed before importing.
- 2
Open Jira Import
In the Requirements page, click "Import from Jira". A modal appears where you select your project and filters.
- 3
Select issues
Choose the Jira project key and optionally filter by issue type (Epic, Story, Task, etc.) or label. Preview the list of issues to be imported.
- 4
Import
Click "Import". Each Jira issue becomes a Requirement with its ID mapped to external_id, title, status, and a link back to the original Jira issue.
- 5
Sync updates
Re-run the import at any time to pull in new issues or status changes. Existing requirements are matched by external_id and updated in place.
AI-Based TC Suggestions
Professional+For any requirement, Testably's AI can analyze the requirement text and suggest existing test cases that are likely to cover it, or propose new ones. This reduces the manual effort of building coverage from scratch.
- 1
Open a Requirement
Click any requirement row to open its detail panel on the right side of the Requirements page.
- 2
Click "Suggest TCs"
Press the "Suggest TCs" button in the detail panel. The AI analyzes the requirement title and description.
- 3
Review suggestions
A list of candidate test case titles is shown, each with a relevance indicator. Select the ones you want to link.
- 4
Link or create
For existing TCs, the suggestion links them directly. For new ones, a pre-filled test case draft is created and linked automatically.
Plan Limits — AI TC Suggestions
Next Steps
Now that you understand RTM, learn how to reuse steps across test cases with Steps Library, or set up your Jira integration.