Mastering Reporting Features in Polarion
Building Interactive Reports with Custom Widgets, SQL Customization & Data Verification
Why Reporting in Polarion Matters?
Accurate reporting is critical for project tracking, compliance, and data-driven decision-making. Polarion offers a powerful reporting framework that allows organizations to customize reports using interactive widgets, SQL queries, and data validation steps.
In this use case, we explore how to create interactive reports, customize them with SQL, verify report data, and implement advanced customizations for enhanced insights.
1️⃣ Understanding Reporting in Polarion
Polarion provides multiple ways to generate reports:
✅ Live Reports – Generated dynamically using widgets
✅ Document-Based Reports – Structured reports in documents
✅ SQL-Based Reports – Advanced reports using direct database queries
✅ Custom Reports – Created using scripting & custom plugins
2️⃣ Interactive Reporting with Widgets
Widgets are the easiest way to build dynamic and interactive reports in Polarion. Some common widgets include:
📊 Table Widget – Displays work items in tabular format
📈 Chart Widget – Visual representation of data (pie, bar, line charts)
🔍 Filter Widget – Allows filtering work items dynamically
🔄 Live Query Widget – Fetches real-time data
🛠 Steps to Use Widgets for Reporting:
1️⃣ Navigate to Reports → Create New Report
2️⃣ Select Widgets and add them to the report
3️⃣ Configure queries, filters, and visualization settings
4️⃣ Save and test the report
3️⃣ SQL Customization for Advanced Reports
While widgets offer flexibility, sometimes custom SQL queries are needed for deep data insights. Polarion allows users to write SQL queries to extract and transform data.
🔹 Example: Custom SQL Query to Fetch Work Items by Status
SELECT WI.ID, WI.TITLE, WI.STATUS, WI.ASSIGNEE
FROM WORKITEM WI
WHERE WI.PROJECT = 'MyProject'
AND WI.STATUS IN ('Open', 'In Progress');
📌 Use Case: Extract all work items from MyProject that are either Open or In Progress.
4️⃣ Data Verification Steps for Accurate Reports
To ensure reporting accuracy, follow these data verification steps:
✅ Step 1: Verify that all required data fields are populated
✅ Step 2: Run test queries in the Polarion SQL Console
✅ Step 3: Cross-check report results with work item details
✅ Step 4: Implement filters & validation checks for cleaner data
Here’s an expanded section with step-by-step details on SQL Console in Polarion, Custom Scripts for Data Validation, and Database Logs for Debugging so that users can try them out effectively.
🛠 Tools Used for Advanced Reporting in Polarion
To create, validate, and debug reports in Polarion, you need to use these essential tools:
📌 1. SQL Console in Polarion – Writing & Testing Queries
The SQL Console in Polarion is a built-in tool that allows you to run SQL queries directly on the database to fetch specific data for reports.
🔹 How to Access the SQL Console?
1️⃣ Log in to Polarion
2️⃣ Navigate to Administration > Database > SQL Console
3️⃣ In the SQL Console window, write your custom SQL queries
4️⃣ Click Execute to run the query and see results
🔹 Example Queries to Try in SQL Console
✔ Retrieve All Work Items in a Project
SELECT ID, TITLE, STATUS, ASSIGNEE
FROM WORKITEM
WHERE PROJECT = 'MyProject';
✔ Get All Work Items Assigned to a Specific User
SELECT ID, TITLE, STATUS
FROM WORKITEM
WHERE ASSIGNEE = 'John.Doe'
ORDER BY STATUS DESC;
✔ Count the Number of Open Work Items
SELECT COUNT(*) AS Open_Items
FROM WORKITEM
WHERE STATUS = 'Open';
📌 Tip: You can use these queries to cross-check report data and debug inconsistencies before finalizing a report.
📌 2. Custom Scripts for Data Validation
Polarion allows you to write custom scripts in Velocity, JavaScript, or Groovy to validate report data before generating reports.
🔹 Why Use Custom Scripts?
✅ Automatically check missing or incorrect data in reports
✅ Enforce business rules (e.g., work items must have an assignee)
✅ Transform data for better visualization in reports
🔹 Example: Velocity Script to Check Missing Assignees in Work Items
#set ($workItems = $trackerService.getAllWorkItems())
#foreach ($wi in $workItems)
#if (!$wi.getAssignee())
<p>Warning: Work Item ${wi.getId()} has no assignee!</p>
#end
#end
📌 Use Case: This script runs through all work items and displays a warning for items without an assignee, helping teams clean up their data before reporting.
🔹 Where to Use Custom Scripts in Polarion?
1️⃣ Report Widgets – Embed scripts inside Live Report pages
2️⃣ Work Item Automation – Validate data during state transitions
3️⃣ Custom Extensions – Build plugins for additional report checks
📌 3. Database Logs for Debugging
Polarion maintains detailed logs of database queries, user actions, and system events. These logs are crucial for debugging reporting issues and performance bottlenecks.
🔹 How to Access Polarion Logs?
📌 Location of Logs:
On Windows:
C:\Polarion\data\logs\polarion.logOn Linux:
/var/polarion/data/logs/polarion.log
📌 Steps to Analyze Logs for Reporting Issues:
1️⃣ Open polarion.log using Notepad++ or a log viewer tool
2️⃣ Search for SQL query execution logs (look for SELECT statements)
3️⃣ Identify slow queries causing performance issues
4️⃣ Check for errors or missing data warnings
🔹 Example Log Entry for a Reporting Query Execution
[2025-03-10 10:15:22] INFO SQL Query Execution:
SELECT ID, TITLE FROM WORKITEM WHERE STATUS='Open'
Executed in 120ms
📌 Tip: If your report is slow, check for queries taking more than 500ms and optimize them by adding indexes or limiting data retrieval.
🛠 How to Use These Tools Together for Reporting?
🔹 Step 1: Use the SQL Console to test queries before embedding them in reports
🔹 Step 2: Write Custom Scripts to enforce validation rules and enhance data quality
🔹 Step 3: Check Database Logs to debug slow reports or missing data issues
📌 By combining these tools, you can build high-quality, error-free reports in Polarion! 🚀
5️⃣ Customizing Reports for Specific Use Cases
Beyond widgets and SQL, reports can be customized using scripting and extensions.
🔹 Custom Extensions: Create tailor-made report templates for specific projects
🔹 Exporting Reports: Generate reports in PDF, CSV, Excel for sharing
🔹 Automating Reports: Schedule automated report generation & email notifications
Conclusion: Unlocking the Full Potential of Reporting in Polarion
Effective reporting in Polarion empowers teams to make data-driven decisions and track project progress efficiently. By leveraging interactive widgets, SQL queries, custom reports, and tools Used for Advanced Reporting you can enhance visibility, improve workflows, and ensure compliance.
🔍 Next Step: Implement these reporting techniques in your Polarion project and take your analytics game to the next level! 🚀
