A spreadsheet is still a good requirements tool for a small, stable list with one accountable owner. Move when parallel copies, fragile relationship cells or manually assembled evidence make the accepted state hard to prove. The destination should remove that coordination burden, not merely display the same rows in a prettier table. This is Arc's practical, vendor-authored guide.
Where is the spreadsheet failing?
Excel supports co-authoring, but co-authoring does not by itself define requirement authority or engineering review. Inspect a real workbook: are IDs unique across sheets, are parent references valid, do formulas encode engineering assumptions, and can anyone tell which exported copy governed the last test? If a single owner can answer reliably, improve the workbook conventions first.
Which level of control do we need?
- Structured document: viable for a short contractual specification that changes infrequently.
- Jira: useful if the records are mostly delivery tasks rather than controlled system requirements.
- Arc: relevant when interfaces, change proposals, configuration and verification need one connected space-programme context.
- Jama, Polarion or Codebeamer: consider when formal reviews or a wider ALM estate justify their operating scope.
What should our hardest row test?
Use a synthetic battery thermal requirement with a parent requirement on one sheet, a test case on another and a waiver in email. Import only a representative slice. Change the temperature threshold and ask who sees the affected design and test. If the destination cannot preserve the relationship meaning or the waiver's authority, a row count alone has not proved migration.
What should the migration preserve?
Freeze an authoritative workbook, inventory hidden sheets and formulas, and decide which columns are data versus calculations. Preserve comments and approval emails as a separate historical record when they cannot become structured review history. Reconcile source and destination IDs, parent links and test references before giving the new tool authority.
Where does Arc fit?
Arc offers a connected requirement and evidence model. Its approved import scope includes CSV, Word, Jira, Git and Confluence; an Excel workbook should be assessed for a suitable export and mapping path rather than assumed to be a native workbook import. The right migration depends on workbook quality.
Frequently asked questions
When is Excel still sufficient?
When the list is small and stable, one owner controls changes, and relationships and evidence can be reconciled without manual detective work.
Does Excel co-authoring create a controlled baseline?
No. The team still needs an agreed authority, approval record, revision rule and applicable verification evidence.
Can Arc ingest an Excel workbook directly?
The approved direct import list is CSV, Word, Jira, Git and Confluence. Assess and test the workbook export and field mapping first.
What should happen to formulas and hidden sheets before import?
Inventory them in the frozen authoritative workbook and distinguish data from calculations or engineering assumptions. Agree how each needed value, formula or historical record will be preserved, then reconcile IDs, parents and test references in the destination. A row count cannot establish equivalent workbook behaviour.
Can an emailed waiver disappear once the requirement row transfers?
No. Preserve the waiver decision and its authority as a historical record when it cannot become structured review history. In the battery thermal example, the destination must retain how the requirement, test and waiver relate; transferring text alone does not justify treating the accepted state as complete.