Defect Linkage
You can link a defect to the following ALM entities: requirements, tests, test sets, business process tests, flows, test instances, runs, run steps, and other defects.
Examples of when defect linkage is useful include:
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A new test is created specifically for a defect. By creating a link between the test and the defect, you can determine if the test should be run based on the status of the defect.
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During a manual test run, if you add a defect, ALM automatically creates a link between the test run and the new defect.
You can link defects directly to other defects or entities. When you add a defect link to an entity, ALM adds a direct link to the entity and indirect links to related entities.
Indirect linkage is a one-directional flow; ALM indirectly links higher-level related entities only.
The diagram below shows the indirect links that ALM creates if a defect is linked to a run step.
To learn more about defects, see Defect Tracking Overview.
For task details, see How to Link Defects.
Example: If you link a defect to a run:
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The defect is indirectly linked to the run, the run's test instance, the test set, and the test.
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If the corresponding test is covered by a requirement, an indirect link is also added to the requirement.
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The defect is not indirectly linked to the run's steps, because the run steps are lower-level related entities.
Note: Only direct links to defects from an entity can be deleted.
