Toward improved traceability of non-functional requirements

Abstract

This position paper examines current practices and challenges for tracing non-functional requirements (NFRs). Anecdotal evidence suggests that many organizations do not effectively trace NFRs and that functional changes are often implemented with very little understanding as to how system qualities such as safety, security, and performance will be impacted. The tendency for NFRs to have broad ranging impact upon a software system, and the strong interdependencies and tradeoffs that exist between NFRs and the software architecture leave typical existing traceability methods insufficient for tracing NFRs. This paper focuses on post-requirements traceability of NFRs. It first identifies three critical areas in which NFRs require traceability support, it then evaluates existing traceability methods, and finally proposes a more holistic traceability environment named Goal Centric Traceability that supports impact analysis of NFRs within the context of the software architecture in which they are deployed.