Nodes and Routes

4 min read

This page shows how to edit your map: add, move, merge and delete items, link them to requirements, and draw lines between them.

A node is one item on the map — an area, a screen, a feature and so on (see the types).
A route is a line between two items: either a user goes from A to B (navigation) or A breaks if B changes (dependency).
The inspector is the details panel that opens on the right when you select an item. It shows the item’s title, type, description, coverage and linked work, with buttons for impact analysis and generating test cases at the bottom, and a ⋮ menu for Move under…, Merge into… and delete.

You need Atlas edit permissions to change the map. Your changes are kept when you re-sync.

Add a Node

Choose where the item goes:
- For a top-level item, select Add a node in the Manage group of the action rail.
- To nest it inside an existing item, switch to the Map view, right-click the parent item and choose Add a child node.
A new item called New node appears, with the type Feature. Select it to open the inspector.
Click the title to rename it, and pick the right type.

To rename an item or change its type later, edit it in the inspector, or use Rename and Type in the item’s ⋮ menu in the Tree view. A Behaviour item can’t have items nested inside it — if it needs them, make it a Feature.

Move a Node

Select the item, then choose Move under… from the inspector’s ⋮ menu (or from the item’s ⋮ menu in the Tree view).
In Choose a node, pick the new parent. Or select Move to the top level.

Everything nested inside the item moves with it, and its links stay attached. You can’t move an item inside one of its own children.

On the Map view, dragging boxes only changes where they sit on screen, not what they’re nested in. Re-arrange in the map toolbar lays everything out again.

Merge Two Nodes

Use this when the same part of the app ended up on the map twice — for example, once from Sync and once from a Canon suggestion under a different name.

Select the item you want to get rid of, then choose Merge into… from the ⋮ menu.
In Choose a node, pick the item to keep.

The item you keep takes over the other one’s folder, links and sources. The merged item is remembered, so Sync won’t bring it back.

Delete a Node

Select the item and open the ⋮ menu (or right-click it on the Map view).
Choose one:
- Delete — shown when nothing is nested inside the item.
- Delete with N inside — the item and everything nested inside it go.
- To delete only the item and keep what’s nested inside it, first move those items elsewhere with Move under…, then choose Delete. (Delete just this node is refused while anything is still nested inside.)
Read the confirmation — it says how many items will go and how many journeys will be left with a broken step — and confirm. Routes to or from deleted items go too.

Link a Requirement to a Node

An item with nothing linked shows as Unmapped and adds nothing to coverage or impact analysis. Items created by Sync are already linked to their test folder; you can add requirements yourself.

Select the item to open the inspector.
Under Linked work, click Link a requirement… and search for the requirement by code or title.
Select it. The requirement — and the test cases linked to it — now count towards the item’s coverage.

To remove a link, click the × next to it under Linked work. If the link came from your test folders, the next Sync may add it back.

Draw a Route

Routes are drawn on the Map view.

Switch to the Map view and hover the first item.
Drag from the small dot on its right or bottom edge and drop it on the second item. A navigation route is created from the first item to the second.
To change it, click the route. The menu lets you Rename route… (for a navigation route, use what the user clicks — “Click Checkout”), switch it with Make it a dependency / Make it a navigation route, or Delete this route.

Get the dependency direction right

A dependency route reads “A depends on B”: changing B can break A. Always drag from the item that depends to the item it depends on.

Example: Checkout uses the payment service. Drag from Checkout to Payment service, then choose Make it a dependency. Now, when you run impact analysis on Payment service, Checkout’s tests show up in the retest list.

Impact analysis follows dependency routes only. Navigation routes help you read the map and give the AI test case generator context.

Find, Filter and Evidence Links

On the Map view:

Find on the map (in the toolbar) searches for an item by name. The filter button narrows by health, type, Proposed by Oracle (added from an AI suggestion) or Orphaned (its folder was deleted). Other items fade rather than disappear, so you keep your bearings.
Show areas connected by a shared test case or defect (rail, Analyze group) draws dashed lines between items that share a test case or defect. They’re worked out live and never saved.