An analysis of the requirements traceability problem

In this paper1, we investigate and discuss the underlying nature of the requirements traceability problem. Our work is based on empirical studies, involving over 100 practitioners, and an evaluation of current support. We introduce the distinction between pre-requirements specification (pre-RS) traceability and post-requirements specification (post-RS) traceability, to demonstrate why an all-encompassing solution to the problem is unlikely, and to provide a framework through which to understand its multifaceted nature. We report how the majority of the problems attributed to poor requirements traceability are due to inadequate pre-RS traceability and show the fundamental need for improvements here. In the remainder of the paper, we present an analysis of the main barriers confronting such improvements in practice, identify relevant areas in which advances have been (or can be) made, and make recommendations for research

Contribution structures

The invisibility of the individuals and groups that gave rise to requirements artifacts has been identified as a primary reason for the persistence of requirements traceability problems. This paper presents an approach, based on modelling the dynamic contribution structures underlying requirements artifacts, which addresses this issue. We show how these structures can be defined, using information about the agents who have contributed to artifact production, in conjunction with details of the numerous traceability relations that hold within and between artifacts themselves. We describe a scheme, derived from work in sociolinguistics, which can be used to indicate the capacities in which agents contribute. We then show how this information can be used to infer details about the social roles and commitments of agents with respect to their various contributions and to each other. We further propose a categorisation for artifact-based traceability relations and illustrate how they impinge on the identification and definition of these structures. Finally, we outline how this approach can be implemented and supported by tools, explain the means by which requirements change can be accommodated in the corresponding contribution structures, and demonstrate the potential it provides for "personnel-based" requirements traceability

Extended requirements traceability: results of an industrial case study

Contribution structures offer a way to model the network of people who have participated in the requirements engineering process. They further provide the opportunity to extend conventional forms of artifact-based requirements traceability with the traceability of contributing personnel. In this paper, we describe a case study that investigated the modeling and use of contribution structures in an industrial project. In particular, we demonstrate how they made it possible to answer previously unanswerable questions about the human source(s) of requirements. In so doing, we argue that this information addresses problems currently attributed to inadequate requirements traceability

Modelling the contribution structure underlying requirements

Improvements in requirements traceability (RT) are essential for developing better quality software systems. Based upon empirical investigations with practitioners, and an extensive survey of techniques and tool support for requirements engineering (RE), we explain why conventional RT can only support limited improvements in quality, and suggest extensions required to provide further improvements. These extensions revolve around the ability to continuously model, and hence trace, those who have contributed in the production and refinement of the requirements specification (RS). In this paper, we propose an approach to support such modelling, outline preliminary details, and discuss how it provides the foundations for developing quality software

Traceability Maintenance: Factors and Guidelines

Traceability is an important concern for numerous software engineering activities. Establishing traceability links %that capture useful connections between software artefactsis a challenging and cost-intensive task, which is uneconomical without suitable strategies for maintaining high link quality. Current approaches to Traceability Management (TM), however, often make important assumptions and choices without ensuring that the consequences and implications for traceability maintenance are feasible and desirable in practice. In this paper, therefore, we identify a set of core factors that influence how the quality of traceability links can be maintained. For each factor, we discuss relevant challenges and provide guidelines on how best to ensure viable traceability maintenance in a practical TM approach. Our results are based on and supported by data collected from interviews conducted with: (i) 9 of our industrial and academic project partners to elicit project specific requirements, and (ii) 24 software development stakeholders from 15 industrial cases to provide a broader overview of the current state of the practice on traceability maintenance.To evaluate the feasibility of our guidelines, we investigate a set of existing TM solutions used in industry with respect to our guidelines

Traceability-why do it?

Traceability of software artifacts, from requirements to design and through implementation and quality assurance, has long been promoted by the research and expert practitioner communities. However, evidence indicates that, with the exception of those operating in the safety critical domain, few software companies choose to implement traceability processes, in the most part due to cost and complexity issues. This paper presents a review of traceability literature including the implementa-tion of traceability in real organizations. Through both analyzing case studies and research published by leading traceability researchers, this paper synthesiz-es the motivations of the organizations for implementing traceability. Given the importance of traceability in the regulated domain of safety critical software, the paper compares the motivations and benefits for organizations operating inside and outside of this domain. Finally, based on an analysis of the disparate case studies, the paper re-assesses the value of traceability motivators for more widespread adoption by firms outside of the safety critical sector