Requirements Traceability:

Planning, Tracking and Managing Requirements

Presenter: Paula R. Maychruk, BV/TEd., CAPM, CBAP

Key Learning Points

• Describe requirement attributes, and how they can assist with requirements planning and prioritization (PLANNING)

• Understand how to trace requirements from planning, through design and development, and on into the testing and implementation phases of a project/product (TRACKING)

• Recognize how requirements traceability can facilitate requirements change (MANAGING)

Session Agenda

• Planning (and Prioritizing) Requirements“Setting up for Traceability”

• Tracking Requirements“Traceability in Action”

• Managing Requirements“The Power of Traceability”

Traceability, Defined

• Links downstream work products to the purpose for which they were created

• Provides a process to confirm that the Requirements Elicitation process is complete

• Ensures that project work is not authorized for items that are outside of project scope

• Enables stakeholder notification during the change management process

• Increases quality on all project sizes and types

• Facilitates the requirements change control processBABOK, Version 1.6, Page 131

The PLANNING Process

1. Identify the business problem

2. Drill down to the business needs/wants

3. Create a detailed scope list

4. Set initial business priorities and assess overall business risk

5. Determine what the high- to mid-level business requirements are (feature list)

6. Assign requirements attributes

The PLANNING Process – continued

7. Set priorities (based on both business and technical attributes)

8. Begin defining high-level estimates

9. Refine scope of the project; re-prioritize (if necessary)

10. Once final scope is set, begin documenting detailed requirements (including NFRs)

11. Control requirements change

Where Does Traceability Begin?

• Start with Business Needs/Wants

• Start with Scope

• Start with High-Level Business Requirements

• Start with Product Features• Requirements Attributes

Traceability in the BABOK

BABOK, Version 1.6, Page 132

User Needs

High-LevelProduct Desc

Trace

EnterpriseAnalysis

BRD Supp Specs

Test Case Test Case

TraceTrace

Trace Trace

RequirementsGathering &Analysis

Test Period

DesignArtifact

Design &Construction

Trace

Requirements Numbering

• Unique numeric and/or textual identifier (R1, R2, etc.)

• Can use prefix to differentiate between Functional and Non-Functional requirements (F1, F2 and N1, N2, etc.)

• No rules, except no duplicates

• Absolute reference – not to be altered or re-used if the requirement is moved, changed or deleted

Requirements Attributes – BABOK Definitions

• “Requirements attributes provide information about the requirement…”

• “The information documented by the attributes helps the team efficiently and effectively make tradeoffs between requirements… understanding the impact of a proposed change.”

BABOK, Version 1.6, Page 203

Types of Attributes (Examples)

• Requirement ID• Version• Owner• Source• Status• Risk• Complexity• Stability

• Priority• Author• Use Case Xref• Dependencies• Test Case Xref

Prioritizing Requirements

• Using Requirement Attributes• High risk items should be implemented first, but only if high

stability• High complexity items should be implemented first, but only if

medium-low risk• Ranking adjusted based on business/technical priority

• Using Agile Methodology• Start with items of technical/architectural significance

Calculating Requirements Priority

• Risk * Complexity * Stability * Priority = Calculated Rating• Risk (H = 5, M = 3, L = 1)• Complexity (H = 5, M = 3, L = 1)• Stability (H = 1, M = 3, L = 5)• Priority (H = 5, M = 3, L = 1)

• Scoring• Highest Point Value = 625• Lowest Point Value = 1

Requirements Cross-Referencing

• Types of Requirements Xrefs:• High-level business requirements or features• Use Cases or User Stories (detailed requirements)• Supplementary Specifications (NFRs)• Design elements• Development components• Test scenarios, test cases

The TRACKING Process

• Tracing requirements through:• Requirements Planning• Solution Design• Software Development (Coding)• System Testing• Implementation

Traceability Matrix – Part 1

Traceability Matrix – Part 2

Traceability and the BRD

• BRD = detailed requirements

• For a large BRD, issue amendments

• If design is in progress, issue amendments

• If design is finished, updated detailed design doc (development) and the BRD (testing)

• Use Cases – separate documents with overall index (easier to update and maintain)

• Requirements versioning

Traceability @ Implementation

• All requirements should now be marked “complete”• Validate that all requirements were met• Validate that all business objectives were met

• Metrics:• Assess the % of unused requirements• Assess the % of changed requirements• Were estimates accurate?

The MANAGING Process

• Managing requirements by:• Controlling scope• Responding to change• Change management (project change control)

• Traceability

Controlling Scope

• Requirements Change Control• New• Modifications• Removal

• Avoid SCOPE CREEP• Alignment with business objectives

• Using traceability to assess impact

Responding to Change

• Typical responses to change:• Sniff out change early• Scurry into action• Deny and resist change; fear it will lead to something worse• Learn to adapt in time

• Become a Change ______________• (Advocate, Navigator, Catalyst)

Change Management

• Generate formal Change Requests

• Revisit the source of the requirement

• Involve requirement owner in evaluating the proposed change

• Cycle back through the phases, beginning with Draft

Traceability for Changed Requirements

• Update the Traceability Matrix to reflect changes to requirements

• Requirements versioning

• Document, document, document!• Consider dependencies, linked documentation• Re-prioritize (if necessary)

Post-Project Uses for Traceability

• Obtain sign-off

• Governance/Steering Committee reviews

• Project Close-out reports

• Lessons Learned

In Summary…

• Plan the Work, Work the Plan

• Requirements Attributes are Key

• Underscoring Traceability: Knowledge is POWER

• Traceability Matrix = Roadmap for Success

Key Learning Points

• Describe requirement attributes, and how they can assist with requirements planning and prioritization

• Understand how to trace requirements from planning, through design and development, and on into the testing and implementation phases of a project/product

• Recognize how requirements traceability can facilitate requirements change

Questions?