What should an analyst ensure regarding requirements traceability?

Ensuring that requirements traceability is maintained between all related documentation is critical for several reasons. First, traceability provides a clear link between requirements and their corresponding design, development, and testing documentation. This connection helps stakeholders verify that all requirements are addressed throughout the project lifecycle, thereby reducing the risk of missing or misunderstood requirements.

Maintaining traceability also facilitates impact analysis when changes occur. If a requirement changes, being able to trace it through related documents ensures that all affected areas, such as designs and test cases, can be updated accordingly. This interconnectedness greatly enhances communication among team members and stakeholders, as everyone can refer back to original requirements and their subsequent developments with clarity.

Furthermore, robust requirements traceability is essential for project accountability and compliance. Stakeholders or auditors can review the traceability matrix to confirm that all requirements have been accounted for and satisfactorily addressed, ensuring that the final product meets user needs and regulatory standards.

In contrast, limiting traceability to high-level requirements would ignore critical details found in lower-level requirements and related documentation, which can lead to oversight. If traceability is deemed unnecessary for well-defined requirements, it risks creating gaps in understanding that could arise from assumptions made. Finally, establishing traceability post-development diminishes its effectiveness, as