Author and Import Requirements

R2026b

Step 2 of 6 in Use Model-Based Design to Build a Battery Management System

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You can author requirements directly in the Requirements Editor (Requirements Toolbox), or import them from external formats such as Microsoft^® Excel^®, Word, or ReqIF. This project uses a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (BMSSwRequirements.xlsx) as its starting point. Linking requirements to architecture elements, model blocks, and test cases creates a digital thread that enables you to trace coverage from specification through implementation to verification.

In this section, you:

1. Author requirements in an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

2. Import requirements into the Requirements Editor.

3. Map requirement types.

4. Link requirements to design elements.

Note

For an interactive version of the requirements import and linking workflow, open Doc/BMSVerificationAndValidation.m in the project.

Author Requirements in Excel

Author requirements for the BMS in BMSSwRequirements.xlsx using a structured spreadsheet template. The template uses columns for requirement ID, summary, and description, with spreadsheet outline levels to represent the requirement hierarchy.

To set up the hierarchy in Microsoft Excel:

1. Open BMSSwRequirements.xlsx in the Requirements/ folder.

2. Select the rows you want to group as children.

3. On the Data tab, in the Outline section, click Group.

4. Repeat for each level of the hierarchy.

The spreadsheet outline levels become parent-child relationships when you import the spreadsheet into the Requirements Editor (Requirements Toolbox).

Import Requirements

Import the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet into the Requirements Editor to create a requirements set that you can link to models, tests, and architecture elements.

1. To open the Requirements Editor, on the MATLAB^® toolstrip, on the Apps tab, click Requirements Editor.

   

2. To import from the spreadsheet, click Import > From File.

   

3. In the Import dialog box:

   • In the Source document section, set the Document Location field to BMSSwRequirements.xlsx and the Document Type field to Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet.

     

   • In the Content section, select Include graphics and layout.

4. To configure column mapping, click Configure columns:

   

   Map the Microsoft Excel columns as follows:

   • ID → Custom ID

   • Summary → Summary

   • Description → Description

5. From the Post-Import Callback dropdown, select excelHierarchyImport.m. This script is in the Scripts/ folder. It preserves the spreadsheet outline hierarchy as parent-child relationships in the imported requirements set.

6. Click Import.

   

The import saves the requirements as BMSSwRequirements.slreqx in the Requirements/ folder. To open the imported requirements set, run this command:

open("BMSSwRequirements.slreqx")

Map Requirement Types

After importing, assign a requirement type to each requirement. Types distinguish among context that provides background (Informational), testable specifications (Functional), and organizational headings (Container).

Requirement Container	Type	Rationale
Purpose of BMS	Informational	High-level system context, not directly testable
BMS Input Interfaces	Functional	Specifies expected inputs — testable against model ports
BMS Output Interfaces	Functional	Specifies expected outputs — testable against model ports
BMS Architecture and Module Specification	Functional	Component-level behavioral specifications — testable against implementation

To set the requirement type, select a requirement in the Requirements Editor and set the Type property in the Properties pane.

Link functional requirements to architecture components to establish traceability from specification to design. Only functional requirements map to testable design elements. Informational and container types provide context but do not require implementation coverage.

Link Requirements to Design Elements

To establish traceability across the design lifecycle, link requirements to architecture elements, model blocks, and test cases. These links enable you to:

• See which components implement each requirement.

• Identify requirements that lack implementation or test coverage.

• Navigate from a requirement to the design that implements it or the test that verifies it.

To create a link:

1. Select a requirement in the Requirements Editor.

2. Right-click and select Select for linking with.

3. Navigate to the target element. A target element can be an architecture component in System Composer, a block in Simulink^®, or a test case in Simulink Test™.

4. Right-click the target element and select Link to Selected Requirement.

In this BMS project, requirements link to:

• Architecture components — Link to components of the BMSAlgorithmArchitecture software architecture model to establish requirements to architecture traceability.

• Simulink model blocks — Link to blocks in the StateMachine and CellMonitoringAndBalancing models to establish requirements to implementation traceability.

• Test cases — Link to test cases in the StateMachineTest file to establish requirements to verification traceability.

Alongside each model, traceability files (.slmx) store these links. For example, StateMachine~mdl.slmx stores the links between StateMachine.slx and its associated requirements.