Requirements

Requirements is where the team writes down what the product must do and why. Requirements live in modules and are edited inline like a spreadsheet, as one flat list per module.

Modules

Open Product → Requirements to see one card per module. Each card shows how many requirements it holds, how many are in each status, and how many the client has approved.

• Choose New module to add a broad product area, such as Billing.
• Use the ⋯ menu on a card to rename or delete a module. Deleting a module deletes its requirements.
• Choose a card to open its table, or All requirements to see every module at once.

Requirement IDs

Every requirement gets a number that never changes. The prefix shows its type:

Numbers are shared across types, so BR-1, FR-2, and NFR-3 are three different requirements.

The table

A module’s table is a flat list of every requirement in it, business requirements included. In All modules, rows are grouped by module; the groups start collapsed. Choose a module to expand it, or use Expand all. Switch modules from the module picker without leaving the table.

Use Columns to show or hide columns. Drag a header to reorder columns and drag its edge to resize.

Attention

The Attention column flags what needs a look. Point at a badge to see why; when there are more than fit, +N lists the rest.

Use the filter icon on Attention to show only the requirements that need one or more of these.

Edit inline

Double-click a cell, or select it and press Enter, to edit it.

• Requirement is typed directly.
• Scope and Persona open a picker. Type a name that does not exist and choose Create to add it. Manage scopes and their sign-off with Scopes at the top of the Requirements page (see Scopes). To rename or delete personas, choose Personas there too; each shows how many requirements use it, and deleting one removes it from those requirements.
• Status, Effort, Value, and Priority open a list of choices.
• Delivers sets the business requirement a requirement delivers. It can’t be set on a business requirement.
• Depends on, Needed by, and Other links open a tagger. Search by ID or title to add a link, or select × on a chip to remove it. In Other links, choose the link type first.

Point at an ID chip to see the requirement’s title and status. When a cell has more links than fit, it shows +N; point at it to see the rest, or widen the column.

To add a requirement, press / anywhere in the table to jump to the add row of the module you are in, type the title and press Enter. Select the FR badge, or press / again while the row is still empty, to cycle through NFR and BR first.

Changing the wording or criteria of an approved requirement creates a new version and moves it back to Ready, because the approval covered the old wording. Edits to Draft or Ready requirements update the current version. A requirement with a Conflicts link cannot move past Draft until the link is removed.

When Helix changes a requirement’s wording or criteria, it always saves a new version, shown in History as Helix for the person who asked, so you can see exactly what it changed. Helix keeps a Draft or Ready status as it is and moves an approved requirement back to Ready. Helix can set Draft or Ready, but only people can approve a requirement.

Export to Excel

Choose Export in the table toolbar to download what is shown as an Excel file. The current module and filters apply. Each module gets its own sheet, with every requirement’s description, expected output, acceptance criteria, technical notes and criteria, planning values, personas, data fields and links. Business requirements are highlighted, each followed by the requirements that deliver it. A Data dictionary sheet lists every data field with its allowed values and rules, then the scopes and the personas.

Import from meetings, wiki, and files

Choose Import on the To review page. Pick any mix of meetings, wiki pages, and files, using the search box and Select all on each tab, then choose Find requirements. They are read for new requirements, changes to existing ones, things to drop and open questions, which come back as proposals for you to review. Nothing changes until you accept a proposal.

Only what someone asks for becomes a proposal. When the team demos or explains what the product already does, that walkthrough isn’t proposed as a requirement; a request made during it, such as “can it also export to CSV?”, is. Project logistics, such as credentials or test accounts the team needs, and ideas only floated without anyone asking for them are not proposed either.

Each source is read on its own first, then compared with what the project already has, so something that already exists, is already waiting for review, or was left out as not needed is not proposed again. A file must finish processing before it can be read. When a wiki page or file is imported again, only the sections edited since the last import are proposed again. A meeting that was already imported is skipped, because a recorded meeting doesn’t change.

Tick Read imported sources again to read the chosen sources in full, even if they are unchanged. Use it after leaving out poor suggestions, for example to get fresh proposals from a meeting. Proposals you left out as Not needed still stay out.

A project’s sources are read one at a time, oldest first: a meeting by when it took place, a wiki page by when it was last edited, a file by when it was added. An older source never overrules a newer one. If an old meeting drops something a later source asked for, it is not proposed for removal; if it changes a requirement a later source shaped, the change is proposed at Low confidence with a note to check it still applies.

Each source shows how it was last imported:

Sources that still need importing are listed first. Choose To import to hide the ones that are imported and unchanged. While sources are being read the Import button shows a spinner, and a red dot means an import failed.

Requirement details

Select a requirement’s ID, the panel icon at the end of its row (it appears when you point at the row), or any ID chip, to open the requirement beside the table. While the panel is open, select another row to switch to it. Drag the divider to resize the panel. The link in the address bar opens the same requirement for anyone on the project.

• Details shows the Business, Functional, and Technical sections. Select any field, including the title, to edit it in place. Enter or clicking away saves (⌘ Enter in longer text), and Esc cancels. Use Add criterion to add acceptance criteria and Error case to mark a negative case.
• Connections lists every linked requirement, grouped by link type. A dashed border means one side changed since the link was last confirmed.
• If this changes shows which requirements a change would affect, one column per step. Choose 1 step, 2 steps, or 3 steps to look further out; each option shows how many requirements it reaches, and steps that add nothing new are greyed out.

A change spreads to:

Press Esc to close the panel.

Data fields

The Data fields tab, next to Details in the panel, lists the data a requirement captures, shows or changes, with the rules each value must follow. See Data dictionary.

Delete a requirement

Select the red bin icon in the panel header or on the full requirement page, then Delete requirement. Its history and links are deleted with it, and this cannot be undone. Deleting a business requirement clears Delivers on the requirements that delivered it. IDs are never reused. A requirement that was signed off with a scope can’t be deleted, and neither can a module that holds one; move it to Not in scope instead, so the sign-off record stays complete.

Full requirement page

Select the expand icon in the panel header to open the requirement on its own page. Overview sums it up in one place, and its links jump to the Business, Functional, Technical, Connections, and If this changes tabs, where every field is edited in place. History lists each version with what changed, removed text struck through and added text below it.

Requirements suggested from a source show Where it came from: the exact quote, who said it, and the meeting timestamp or document section.

Select several requirements

Tick the checkbox at the start of a row, or focus a row and press Space. Shift-click a second checkbox to select everything in between, or tick the header checkbox to select every loaded row.

While rows are selected, the toolbar changes to bulk actions:

• Status sets the same status on every selected requirement.
• Scope moves them to a scope, or removes their scope.
• Delete deletes every selected requirement after you confirm.

Press Esc or select × to clear the selection.

Reorder and move

Drag a row by the handle next to its ID to change its position in its module. Dragging a selected row moves every selected row with it. Requirements can only move within their own module.

From the keyboard, focus a row and press Alt+↑ or Alt+↓ to move it one place. Screen readers announce the new position.

Reordering is turned off while a column is sorted. Clear the sort to reorder.

Search, sort, and filter

• Search by title or by ID, such as FR-12.
• Select a column header to sort. Rows stay inside their module.
• Use the filter icon on Scope, Persona, Status, Attention, Effort, Value, or Priority to filter. Modules with no matching rows are hidden. Choose Clear filters to reset.