Defining a Traceability Link Semantics for Design Decision Support

The development and the evolution of large, complex software systems bear several risks. Traceability links can help to master the complexity of these tasks. Currently, they are not used in a large scale, because tool support is necessary to reduce the overhead effort. At present, tools for handling traceability links cannot be effectively developed, because the syntax and the semantics of the traceability links are not sufficiently defined. In this paper we present a set of traceability link types together with a definition of their semantics. The set of link types was developed by analyzing the link evaluation and exploitation. The presented link types are customized for the support of architectural design decisions in regard to a set of non-functional design goals. The extension of the results to a wider scope is discussed. The work was performed within a large industrial project.