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 implementation of traceability in real organizations. Through both analyzing case studies and research published by leading traceability researchers, this paper synthesizes 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.