The configurable Occurrence Matrix view is a generic and flexible view that presents a matrix of rows of items to be managed, and columns of items that can include the row items as parts, or "occurrences", of the row items. 


The "Context item" is the item that is selected when the view is used. The "Tree structure" include the items that need to be managed, e.g., Software components, and can include as many levels as needed. The "List structure" includes the list items that may include the leaf items as parts, e.g., Software components could be included as "Allocated components" in an ECU. 

The view can be used for many different purposes, typically for coordination or planning purposes. In general, the row items are part of an item structure that includes items that need to be managed in several lists. This article describes how to use the view. 


Prerequisites


Select an item of a type that the matrix is configured for, and select the view via the Items Ribbon (if a button is configured), or by selecting it in the View drop-down list.


Getting Acquainted with the View

The view consists of three (3) tabs: View, Definition, and Description. The View tab is where you work with the data in the matrix. The other two tabs are for SystemWeaver Architects for view configuration.


In the below example matrix, Software components (Tree structure) are being allocated to ECU Systems (the List items). 



The matrix can be navigated, expanded and collapsed. A selected item in the view gets highlighted in the indicator column of the Structure tree to the left of the view (assuming the part is set to be viewed in the Structure tree).


Color Coding

Like many views in SystemWeaver, the matrix uses color coding to indicate different cases for the occurrences:

  • A green cell color indicates an occurrence where the version of the item in the row (tree) is the same as the included item in the column list.
  • A yellow cell color indicates an occurrence where the version of the item in the row (tree) is different from the included item in the column list. 
  • A red row item indicates that there are no occurrences of the item in the lists. This indication can be useful for large matrices where not all columns are being viewed at once.


The right-click context menu, depending on which cell is selected, offers tools and options which are described in this article.


Filtering

Below the matrix, there are two filter options available.


No occurrence

Select No occurrence to filter the matrix to display only those row items which are not included in any of the column lists. In the below example, the "Deactivation" requirement is not included in any of the Test case lists. 


Version inconsistency

Select Version inconsistency to filter the matrix to display only those rows that have version mismatches. When there is a version mismatch in a row, the item Name will be highlighted in yellow in the view's tree, along with each occurrence of a mismatch. In the below example, the versions of "Maintain cruise speed" and "Deactivation" in the list are different from the versions used in the Test cases. 


Items Not Found in Tree Structure

The bottom pane of the view displays any part occurrences for which the row item is missing from the tree list. In this example the "CC Regulate speed" requirement found in two of the Test cases is not in the "Test specification" requirements list.



To handle these items, one can either: 

  • Remove the occurrences from the tree structure (i.e., remove the requirements from the Test cases in the above example), or
  • Add the item to the items list (as shown in yellow above) so it is in the context.

Adding an Occurrence

To add an occurrence of the row item to a column list, right-click in the cell on the row where you want to add the occurrence and select Include. Multi-select is supported for occurrences in the same column list.



The result is that the row item is now a part (a new "occurrence") in the structure, indicated by the green cell color and the item's version number, and the addition of the part in the Structure tree.



Setting a Part Attribute to Create Part

If part attribute columns are included in the matrix, they provide another means of including a row item in a column list. If you assign a value to a part attribute, such as the "Annotation" attribute on "Adaptive cruise control" list item shown below, the system automatically creates the associated part along with the attribute. This process works similarly to the Include option.


Sync Version for One Occurrence

To sync one occurrence's version to the row item version, right-click on the occurrence cell and select Sync version. Multi-select is supported for occurrences in the same column list. 



In the above example, the "Maintain cruise speed" version (1) requirement included in the "Cruise control from stand still" Test case will be replaced with "Maintain cruise speed" row item version (2).

Sync Versions for All Occurrences

To sync the version of all mismatches on a row(s) to the row item version, right-click anywhere on the row(s) and select Sync versions on entire row. Multi-select of rows is supported. 


Example of multiple version mismatches on a row: 



In the above example, the two "Deactivation" requirements version (2) included in the two Test cases will be replaced with "Deactivation" row item version (3).

Remove One Occurrence

To remove an occurrence part from a list, right-click on its cell and select Remove. Multi-select is supported for occurrences in the same column list.

In the above example, this will remove the "CC Regulate speed" requirement from the "Cruise control from stand still" Test case.

Remove All Occurrences

To remove all occurrence parts on a row, right-click on the row and select Remove entire row. Multi-select of rows is supported. 


In the above example, this will remove the "CC Regulate speed" requirement from both the "Cruise control from stand still" and "Cruise speed under current speed" Test cases.

View Additional Part Types

Just as in the Structure tree, there is a View option available in the view's tree, so you can make additional part types visible as needed. 


Find Next Occurrence

You can navigate from one occurrence to the next or previous in a column list by using the Find next (Alt+Down) and Find previous (Alt+Up) options or keyboard shortcuts.  This is helpful when working in long lists.


Open and Copy Items

There are many options available for opening an item directly from a view, including the Open button on the Items ribbon and a number of keyboard shortcuts, e.g., Ctrl+O. See How to Open Items for a complete list. 


The right-click context menu offers a Copy option (or Ctrl+C) to copy an item in the view to your clipboard.

Export to Excel

The matrix can be exported to MS Excel by right-clicking anywhere in the matrix and selecting Export to Excel.