WTML - Table Compilation +
Requirements Management for Word

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Table Compilation

Documents often have data scattered throughout them, for example:

• Findings
• Requirements
• Definitions...etc

It can be useful to gather this data into tables. WTML automates this process. WTML compiles �virtual� tables (the scattered data) from Word documents into �real� tables in Excel.

• You may then copy the �real� table back into Word as a summary, OR
• Modify the "real" table in Excel and use WTML to update the �virtual� table in Word.

Requirements Management

When there are hierarchical relationships in the data WTML can automatically trace the relationships and verify that higher levels in the hierarchy are covered by the lower levels. For example WTML can verify that all findings have recommendations.

A particular application of WTML is requirements management. You can write a requirements specification in Word and use WTML to create a table of requirements, requirements traceability matrices and verify requirement coverage.

How WTML works

WTML is a �markup� language for marking text that is part of a virtual table AND it is a processor for marked up text. For example here is a crudely "marked up" recommendation:

There continues to be a poor level of consumption of fruit and vegetables throughout the population. Our recommendation is unchanged from last year. <Rec><ID>R1<\ID> <Priority>High<\Priority><Txt>Eat five portions of fruit and vegetables each day.<\Txt><\Rec>

The markup �vocabulary� of WTML is user-defined. Here is the same example with the markup tags more subtly defined (and including colour in the tag definitions and values):

There continues to be a poor level of consumption of fruit and vegetables throughout the population. Our recommendation is unchanged from last year. <R> [Identifier=R1] [Priority=High] [Recommendation=Eat five portions of fruit and vegetables each day.]</R>

Tags may also be hidden:

There continues to be a poor level of consumption of fruit and vegetables throughout the population. Our recommendation is unchanged from last year. R1 High Eat five portions of fruit and vegetables each day.

The WTML processor would create this table from the examples above (with a few extra rows shown for illustration):

Identifier	Priority	Recommendation
R1	High	Eat five portions of fruit and vegetables each day.
R2	Medium	Do not snack between meals.
R3	High	Eat complex carbohydrates.

Implementation

WTML-p is implemented as a custom Excel toolbar. It requires Excel (97 to 2007 versions) and works with documents created in Word (97 to 2007 versions). No software other than Word is necessary to prepare or read a WTML document.