How is requirements traceability maintained across REQM, RD, VER, and VAL?

How is requirements traceability maintained across REQM, RD, VER, and VAL?

• A. By documenting each requirement in a standalone REQM file only.
• B. By linking stakeholder needs only to test cases in VER.
• C. By maintaining separate, non-connected records across REQM, RD, VER, VAL.
• D. By linking stakeholder needs through requirements to design, implementation, and validation evidence.

Answer: (D)

The main idea is end-to-end requirements traceability: you start with stakeholder needs, capture them as requirements, connect those requirements through design and implementation, and gather evidence from verification and validation that confirms the product both meets the specified requirements and satisfies the real-world needs. This linkage across REQM, RD, VER, and VAL enables you to see how each need is realized, track changes, and perform impact analysis if requirements evolve. It also ensures there is evidence at every stage—verification shows the product correctly implements the requirements, while validation shows the right product is delivered for the stakeholder environment. The other approaches fail because they don’t maintain a connected chain from needs through to design, implementation, and validation, or they rely on isolated records that break traceability.

The main idea is end-to-end requirements traceability: you start with stakeholder needs, capture them as requirements, connect those requirements through design and implementation, and gather evidence from verification and validation that confirms the product both meets the specified requirements and satisfies the real-world needs. This linkage across REQM, RD, VER, and VAL enables you to see how each need is realized, track changes, and perform impact analysis if requirements evolve. It also ensures there is evidence at every stage—verification shows the product correctly implements the requirements, while validation shows the right product is delivered for the stakeholder environment. The other approaches fail because they don’t maintain a connected chain from needs through to design, implementation, and validation, or they rely on isolated records that break traceability.