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Requirements Traceability Pitfalls
Purpose: Use this file when traceability is incomplete, inconsistent, or too expensive for the chosen scope.
Contents
RT-01..08- Four-way traceability
- SMART requirement gate
- maintenance rules
- completeness thresholds
Traceability Pitfalls
| ID |
Pitfall |
Failure mode |
Guardrail |
RT-01 |
incomplete requirement |
cannot design or test it |
keep requirements atomic, unambiguous, and testable |
RT-02 |
unsynced change |
links drift after edits |
update the matrix whenever requirements change |
RT-03 |
inconsistent naming |
searching and auditing fail |
enforce REQ-XXX, AC-XXX, and related prefixes |
RT-04 |
hidden dependency |
impact analysis is incomplete |
record assumptions and dependencies explicitly |
RT-05 |
over-structured matrix |
maintenance cost explodes |
scale the matrix to Full/Standard/Lite |
RT-06 |
manual-only maintenance |
errors accumulate |
keep verification lightweight and repeatable |
RT-07 |
one-way trace only |
reverse impact is lost |
use forward and backward checks |
RT-08 |
orphan item |
no linked requirement or acceptance |
run orphan detection |
Four-Way Traceability
| Direction |
Question |
| forward from requirements |
is each requirement represented downstream? |
| backward to requirements |
does each downstream artifact map back to a requirement? |
| forward from test cases |
which requirements do the tests cover? |
| backward to test cases |
does each requirement have a testable acceptance path? |
Minimum expectation:
- always keep
REQ -> AC
- add the other directions as the scope increases
Scope-Specific Expectation
| Scope |
Forward Req->Design |
Backward Design->Req |
Forward Test->Req |
Backward Req->Test |
Full |
required |
required |
required |
required |
Standard |
required |
recommended |
recommended |
required |
Lite |
optional |
optional |
optional |
required |
SMART Requirement Gate
Each requirement should be:
SpecificMeasurableAttributedReferenceableTestable
Maintenance Rules
| Event |
Required update |
add REQ |
add the matrix row and at least a placeholder acceptance link |
change REQ |
review linked design and acceptance items |
remove REQ |
deprecate or remove linked artifacts and re-check orphans |
change AC |
verify the linked REQ still matches |
| design change |
trace backward to impacted REQ and AC |
Completeness Thresholds
Traceability_Score = Linked_Items / Total_Items * 100
| Scope |
Target |
Full |
>= 95% |
Standard |
>= 85% |
Lite |
>= 70% |
Accord Quality Gates
Full and score < 95% -> warning- orphan
REQ -> add or refine acceptance criteria
- orphan
AC -> add the linked requirement or remove the criterion
- non-SMART requirement -> refine before approval
