Traceability

Traceability is the core of TraceUnified. Links across every artifact are native and deterministic — human-made, not inferred. Change one item and downstream links flag suspect for re-verification, with live coverage you can audit and impact analysis you can act on.

This section covers the traceability model, creating links, reading the trace matrix, and then using the thread to measure coverage, flag suspect items, and analyze impact.

Links that are real records, not inferences

Traceability is the core of TraceUnified, and the crucial design decision is that links are native and deterministic — deliberate, human-made connections stored as real records, not relationships an algorithm guesses at afterward. That distinction is what makes the thread trustworthy enough to build compliance on: an inferred link can be wrong and no one would know, but a deterministic link between a requirement and the test that verifies it is an explicit, auditable fact.

Coverage and the trace matrix

Once links are real, you can measure the thread. The trace matrix reads relationships across modules in one view, and coverage turns that into a direct question with a direct answer: which requirements are traced and verified, and where are the gaps. For a regulated program this is the difference between claiming completeness and demonstrating it — the matrix is the demonstration.

Suspect links and impact analysis

The thread also makes change safe. When an item changes, downstream links flag suspect, marking exactly what needs re-verification rather than leaving you to guess what a change might have invalidated. And before you even make a change, impact analysis walks the thread to show what a proposed change would touch — so the blast radius of an edit is known in advance. Together, suspect propagation and impact analysis turn traceability from documentation into an active safety mechanism.

What’s in this section

• The thread & traceability model — links as real, deterministic records
• Creating links — connecting items with relationship types
• The trace matrix — reading relationships across modules
• Coverage — finding gaps in the thread
• Suspect links — flagging items that need re-verification
• Impact analysis — assessing a change before you make it
• Build & maintain the thread — a step-by-step walkthrough from linking to clearing suspects