Traceability Tools

The structure of your model and a Traceability diagram act as the starting points for tracing the definition, design and implementation of a specific feature of a system or process. By applying tools such as the Relationship Matrix and Traceability window, you can follow threads through the model to determine how the feature is implemented and tested. You can also obtain information on what elements realize and are realized by the elements in a given Package, using the Dependency report and Implementation report, respectively.

Principal Tools

Tool	Detail	See also
Traceability window	The Traceability window is a very useful and versatile traceability tool; starting with a Traceability diagram or a Package structure in the Project Browser, you can use the Traceability window to quickly explore the relationship chain of which any element is a component. When you click on an element, it immediately becomes the top point in the Traceability window When you click on the background of a diagram, all elements in the diagram are listed in the Traceability window, and you can follow the threads starting at each element through the diagram If you require a rapid, broad-brush view of relationship flows in the project structure, starting with a general list of - say - all functional Requirements, you can use a combination of Model Search, Project Browser and Traceability window; this is a powerful means of scanning your project, identifying how elements have been organized, and seeing how they interact. For example, the Model Search would list all the Requirements. You could rapidly click on each element and immediately see in the Project Browser where it has been grouped, and at the same time - in the Traceability window - how that element interacts with other elements in the model. By moving the cursor around a diagram or the Project Browser, and/or changing the relationship type combinations in the Traceability window, you can quickly see how elements are connected and how they influence each other. For example, you could see that - say - REQ017 is realized by two Use Cases, so you might then explore what else influences and is influenced by these two Use Cases. The Traceability window takes you well beyond what is likely to be depicted on any single diagram. If you have used transformations to develop your model, you can also follow the Transformation Dependencies that exist between an element in a PIM and elements in the PSMs.	The Project Browser The Traceability Window Example Traceability Diagram Model Search
Relationship Matrix	Using the Relationship Matrix, you can both create and study the relationships between, for example, the Requirements and Use Cases of a module. You might identify the 'theme' Package (such as Manage Users) as the source Package in the Requirements model and the target Package in the Use Case model, and explore the likely element and connector types in the Packages; this, like the Traceability diagram, identifies which Requirements are (or should be) realized by which Use Cases. You can then perform similar checks with the Manage Users Packages in, say, the Use Case and Implementation models. Using the 'Source' and 'Target' field browsers () you can examine child Packages within the 'theme' Package, and obtain further detail on how the feature at this stage is defined.	Relationship Matrix
Relationships window	The Relationships window shows a single level of relationships from the currently selected element. Each line corresponds to a single relationship, providing information about that relationship and the element at the other end of the relationship.	The Relationships Window
Dependency report	The Dependency report provides a list of dependencies for all elements in the model.	Dependency Report
Implementation report	The Implementation report provides a list of all elements in the model that have to be implemented, and the elements that implement them.	Implementation Report