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Import / export business requirements

Export; Import; Business requirement;

Updated over a year ago

You can export and import multiple requirements (or bulk-update existing ones) from a CSV file (you can export a CSV file from any spreadsheet software like Excel or Google Sheets).

For user story import, check this article.

Article outline

  • Prerequisites

  • Exporting items from the change grid

  • Importing requirements

  • Import rules

  • Exceptions

  • You might be also interested in

Prerequisites

Exporting requirements

Any user can export requirements from the grid. You need to click on the "Import/Export" menu item in the toolbar and then select one of the export options. The export file will only contain the requirements that are currently present in the grid, i.e. if you apply any filter only the filtered list will be exported.

  • Export via Excel file: this format includes all fields (all columns)

  • Export via CSV: this format only includes the standard fields

When exporting a list of requirements, the linked processes, Salesforce org model items, and additional attachments are not included. 

Importing requirements

To import a CSV file for requirements, you must click on the icon shown below in the toolbar and select "Import from CSV".

Then drag and drop the CSV file from your desktop or select from the computer, clicking "Upload file".

CSV file format for requirements import

You can easily import requirements from another space (through the CSV file). If you want to import your requirements from a different system your CSV file needs to be in the following format (no header is required and you can leave non-mandatory fields as empty columns in your file): 

  1. Summary (mandatory field)

  2. What is required?

  3. Assigned to (must match the email of an existing user in the Space)

  4. Status (must match one of the space status values, and it cannot be of closed category)

  5. Requirement unique ID (mandatory field)

  6. Priority 

  7. Tags (have to be single strings of characters and cannot include special symbols like = _ > < ! % $ etc.)

  8. Impact 

  9. Risk 

  10. Release (must match the name of an existing release in the Space)

  11. Required by date (format should be MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD)

  12. Required by reason 

  13. How it might be implemented 

  14. Any custom fields you have added, in the order they appear in the changes grid.

For example:

TIP If you already have stories in Elements you can get the correct import format by exporting your stories first, and using the format given.

Import rules

The ID is an integer number.  If the system finds a matching requirement ID during upload, it will update the existing requirement with the new information. The exception is if the ID belongs to a closed requirement - in which case the upload will fail as closed items cannot be changed. 

If no matching ID exists, a new requirement will be created using the next number in the sequence, not necessarily the number supplied.  

For example, if you have 2 existing requirements, they will be number 1 and 2.  If you have three rows in the CSV file and all three have the ID 4 it will create the first row with ID 3, it will create the second with ID 4 and will then update the new requirement with ID 4 with the details from the 3 row of the CSV file. 

If you have any issues, feedback or requests, please reach out to us at success@elements.cloud and we can help you.

You might be also interested in

  • User stories - to be able to get the right solution, you really have to start from defining the problem by getting into the shoes of who is going to face the issue

  • Sharing requirements and stories - in order to share a requirement or a user story with other users and collaborate on it, you need to copy a unique URL from the Share tab

  • Reporting on requirements - reporting is a very useful feature which can be used creatively to access knowledge quickly and/or manage the progress of work within Processes

  • JIRA integration - you can connect your Elements Space with multiple JIRA projects in multiple domains and send stories for development

  • Business requirements - business requirements are a tool for documenting your business needs for driving higher value in your company

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