Research Seminar

A Traceability Model Using Requirement Interaction Analysis to Support Software Change Impact Analysis

Abstract

Software traceability is the ability to relate requirements specification with other software artifacts created in the development life-cycle of a software system. Typically, traceability refers to satisfiability, dependency and evolution relations between software artifacts. It provides an important insight into software change impact analysis in discovering the impacted artifacts within and across software phases. This research proposes a traceability model to support software change impact analysis through a requirement interaction analysis approach. This approach is based on the precept that requirement is not individualistic in nature. Indeed, it interacts or communicates with other requirements in order to fulfill stakeholders’ needs. In a normal practice, if a particular requirement changes in the requirement document, the change will also affect the other requirements that it interacts with. Therefore, with the existence of requirements interaction analysis, traceability coverage of change detection can be further broadened across artifacts in subsequent software phases. This research seeks the improvement of change impact analysis results through a traceability model that exploits the capability of requirements interaction analysis.