Overview
One of Glossa's most powerful features is complete traceability. Every AI-generated requirement includes citations that link directly to the specific part of the source material where that requirement was mentioned—whether it's a timestamp in a video meeting, a highlighted paragraph in a document, or a specific email.
This eliminates the common problem of wondering "where did this requirement come from?" months into a project.
What Are Citations?
Citations are references from a requirement back to the original source material that informed it. They provide:
Instant proof of what was discussed or documented
Full context for understanding why a requirement exists
Traceability for compliance and audit purposes
Conflict resolution when stakeholders have differing memories
How Citations Work
Automatic Citation Generation
Citations are automatically generated for all AI-created requirements:
Upload a file or recording to your project
Glossa processes the content and generates requirements
Each requirement is automatically linked to the specific part(s) of the source that mentioned it
Citations include precise references (timestamps for video/audio, highlighted sections for documents)
Citation Granularity
Citations are highly precise:
For text files (PDFs, Word docs, etc.):
Glossa highlights the relevant portions of text (usually one or more paragraphs)
Yellow highlighting shows exactly what content informed the requirement
For audio/video files (meeting recordings):
Citations include start and end timestamps
When you open a citation, playback begins at the relevant moment
Supported Source Types
Glossa can cite from all uploaded file types, including:
Meeting recordings (Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, manually uploaded audio/video)
Documents (PDF, Word, PowerPoint)
Emails (Gmail, Outlook)
Spreadsheets (Excel, Google Sheets)
Text files
Images (with OCR)
Slack messages
And more
Viewing Citations
Accessing Citations
To view citations for a requirement:
Open the requirement by clicking on it
The Reference Data tab opens by default (this is where citations live)
You'll see all files/sources associated with this requirement
What You See in Reference Data
For each citation, you'll see:
Date uploaded - When the file was added to the project
Title - Name of the source file
Uploaded by - Team member who added the file
Relevant snapshot - Preview of the cited text for documents, start and end timestamps for audio/video sources
Open Preview button - Click to view the source at the cited location
Opening the Source
Click the title or Open Preview button to:
For documents: Open the file with the relevant section highlighted
For audio/video: Jump directly to the timestamp where the requirement was mentioned
For other files: View the relevant portion
Multiple Citations
A single requirement can have citations from multiple sources:
This happens when the same requirement was mentioned in multiple meetings, documents, or emails
When merging requirements using the Conflict Checker, the merged requirement retains citations from both original requirements
Managing Citations
Adding Citations Manually
While citations are automatically generated for AI-created requirements, you can manually add citations to any requirement:
Open the requirement
Go to the Reference Data tab
Add a file reference
Important limitation: Manual citations reference the entire file, not a specific section or timestamp within the file. Only AI-generated citations include precise timestamps or highlighted sections.
Removing Citations
You cannot remove individual citations from a requirement while keeping the file in the project. Your options are:
Delete the entire file from the project - This removes all citations to that file across all requirements
Keep the citation - The citation serves as documentation of what was discussed
What Happens When Source Files Are Deleted
If you delete a file from the project, you have the option to delete the associated requirements. If you choose not to delete the associated requirements:
All citations to that file are removed from requirements
The requirement will display: "You have no referenced files for this requirement"
Use Cases for Citations
Stakeholder Alignment
When a client says "we never asked for that," you can show them the exact moment in the discovery call where they mentioned it.
Onboarding New Team Members
New developers or consultants joining mid-project can understand the "why" behind every requirement by reviewing the original discussions.
Scope Management
When scope questions arise, citations provide definitive proof of what was agreed upon versus what's being requested now.
Context Recovery
Months into a project when details are fuzzy, citations let you quickly find the original context for any requirement.
Best Practices
During Discovery
Record all discovery meetings to create citation-rich requirements
Upload all relevant documents including RFPs, design docs, and stakeholder emails
Tag important Slack messages with @GlossaBot to capture informal decisions
Managing Requirements
Use multiple citations as validation when a requirement appears in multiple sources
Review citation sources when resolving contradictions to understand different stakeholder perspectives
Team Collaboration
Share citation links with team members when discussing specific requirements
Reference timestamps in meetings: "Per the client call at 14:32..."
Use citations in status updates to remind clients what was previously agreed
Troubleshooting
"No referenced files for this requirement"
This means:
The requirement was created manually without source material, OR
The original source file has been deleted from the project
Solution: If the requirement should have a source, check if the file was accidentally deleted from the Files tab.
Citation doesn't match the requirement
This may happen when:
The AI misinterpreted complex or ambiguous language
Multiple topics were discussed in quick succession
Solution: Edit the requirement to clarify it, or manually adjust the description to better match the citation. You may want to re-generate the requirement by re-processing the file.