Requirements traceability matrix not updating for releases cb-24

ALM PTC Codebeamer
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1

We’re experiencing issues with our traceability matrix in cb-24 where release relationships aren’t propagating correctly. When we create a new release and link requirements, the matrix shows broken links after a few hours. The relationship rules seem to be configured properly, but downstream test cases and defects aren’t appearing in the matrix view.

Here’s what we’re seeing in the trace logs:


WARN: TraceLinkProcessor - Relationship propagation failed
ERROR: MatrixBuilder - NULL reference for requirement REQ-2847
INFO: LinkValidator - 47 orphaned relationships detected

This is blocking our compliance audit because we can’t demonstrate full traceability from requirements through testing to releases. Has anyone dealt with matrix rebuild issues in cb-24? We’ve tried the standard matrix refresh but it doesn’t resolve the broken links.

2

The NULL reference error suggests a data integrity issue rather than just configuration. I’d recommend running the database consistency check first before rebuilding the matrix. Go to System Admin > Maintenance > Check Database Integrity and look for orphaned associations. We had a similar situation after a cb-23 to cb-24 migration where some relationship IDs weren’t properly updated in the association tables. The integrity check identified 200+ broken references that needed cleanup before the matrix would build correctly.

3

Based on the error patterns and discussion here, you’re dealing with a combination of issues. Let me address all three focus areas systematically:

Link Propagation Configuration: First, enable transitive traceability in Admin > Traceability Settings > Advanced. Set ‘Maximum Trace Depth’ to at least 3 to cover requirement → test case → defect chains. Then verify each relationship type has ‘Propagate Changes’ enabled in the relationship definition.

Relationship Rules Validation: The core issue is likely in your relationship type mappings. Navigate to each tracker configuration and verify:

  1. Requirements tracker: Outgoing relationship types include ‘tests’ and ‘implements’
  2. Test Case tracker: Incoming ‘tests’ relationship from Requirements AND outgoing ‘verifies’ to Releases
  3. Release tracker: Incoming relationships properly configured to accept both direct and transitive links

Your workflow state restrictions are critical - ensure relationship modifications are allowed in ALL workflow states, not just ‘Open’ or ‘Active’. This was causing your downstream propagation to fail.

Matrix Rebuild Process: After fixing the configuration, you need a complete matrix rebuild:

  1. Stop the background scheduler temporarily (System Admin > Scheduler)
  2. Run database cleanup: System Admin > Maintenance > Clean Orphaned Associations
  3. Clear the traceability cache: System Admin > Cache Management > Clear Trace Cache
  4. Execute full matrix rebuild: Traceability > Matrix View > Actions > Rebuild All Matrices
  5. Restart scheduler and monitor logs for ‘MatrixBuilder SUCCESS’ messages

The rebuild can take 15-30 minutes for large projects. Monitor the system logs - you should see ‘TraceLinkProcessor’ completing without NULL reference errors. After rebuild, verify a sample release shows complete traceability chain from requirements through test execution.

For compliance audits, I also recommend setting up automated matrix validation reports that run weekly to catch broken links before they become audit blockers. The built-in ‘Traceability Coverage Report’ template works well for this purpose.

4

This sounds like a multi-hop propagation problem. By default, cb-24 only propagates direct relationships unless you explicitly enable transitive traceability. Check your relationship type definitions - each type needs the ‘Allow Transitive Traces’ flag enabled. Also verify that your test case tracker has the correct upstream/downstream relationship types configured to accept propagated links from requirements.

5

Thanks for the suggestions. I ran the integrity check and it found 83 orphaned associations. After cleanup, I tried the matrix rebuild but still seeing issues with link propagation from requirements to test cases. The release-to-requirement links now work, but the downstream propagation stops there.