Requirements and use cases that exist solely in the Word document are referred to as offline elements. These can be converted into online elements, and so into elements of an Innovator model, by synchronizing or by using a special command for bulk conversion.
A major function of Innovator Office Integration is the integration into associated Innovator models of text requirements that are present in Word or Excel documents. By connecting these requirements to the model elements derived from them, you can achieve complete traceability and improve the transparency of your models.
In order to integrate requirements into the model that initially have no connection to the model, you first need to convert these offline elements into online elements.
Note
Please save any documents from older versions of Word (*.doc) in the latest Word format (*.docx), otherwise Word will run in compatibility mode and the add-on will not be available.
If you select existing text in the document, you can use this text either as the name or as the description text for a new offline element. This is the first step to transferring your requirements that have already been created as text into an Innovator model. In the process, assign a template to the selected text to enable smooth transfer to an Innovator model.
You can save your requirements at any time and then exit Word; all your structured offline elements are saved in the document.
When you have finished the offline elements, you can convert them to online elements individually or in bulk. The conversion turns the created requirements into parts of an Innovator model, which can then very easily be synchronized between document and model.
Connecting to a Model (Optional)
You first need to connect to an Innovator model to be able to edit requirements and use cases in this model. You can connect to any number of models at the same time.
The current model is shown in the Connected models: drop-down list in the Innovator tab in the Innovator for Microsoft Word tool window; all of the model's requirements and use cases are shown below it.
You can only interact with the model currently selected at the time.
Setting Structure for Requirements and Use Cases
The structure of your requirements and use cases in your Word document does not necessarily have to be the same as the structure of the corresponding elements in the model.
Both in the Word document and in the Innovator model, you have the option of grouping elements to be synchronized and keep an clear overview of what is going on, even in larger projects. You can use the usual structures in the Word document (or documents). It is a good idea to use the same structures in the model (e.g. as packages) so that you can easily use the connections without getting in a muddle.
Note
Always convert your documents level by level. When converting elements based on templates, it is no longer possible to distinguish the previous "Header 2" and a "Header 4" Always start with the top-most level (e.g. all level 2 headers first, then all level 3 headers etc.). Repeat this for all other header levels.
You can create a connection between the structures in the Word document and in the model using anchors. An anchor references a container in the model. Requirements and use cases in the document that are below the anchor are stored below the assigned container (e.g. package) in the model upon synchronization.
