Cross-Domain Software Baselining for Requirement-Configuration Traceability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional software development approaches compartmentalize tasks across different disciplines, lacking efficient mechanisms for managing functions that involve multiple software development domains, such as determining how requirements are implemented in software products or evaluating the impact of changes on redevelopment efforts.
Innovation Solution
Techniques for baselining across multiple software development domains, which involve defining requirement objects and configuration management objects, storing relationship information to associate them, and creating baselines that include specific versions of affected CM objects, allowing for tracking and impact analysis of requirement changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional compartmentalized approaches are used for software development, then each discipline can use specialized tools efficiently, but there is no efficient mechanism for managing functions involving multiple disciplines
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal baseline management system that can handle multiple software development disciplines (requirement management, configuration management, testing management, etc.) through a single integrated platform. The baseline object serves as a multi-functional container that can associate objects from different disciplines, enabling cross-discipline traceability and impact analysis without requiring separate specialized systems for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a baseline object as an intermediary entity that connects requirement objects with configuration management objects. This baseline acts as a mediator that establishes relationships across disciplines, enabling traceability from requirements to implementation artifacts without direct coupling between the specialized tools of different disciplines.
2Measurement precision
If compartmentalized tools are used for requirement and configuration management, then each tool can be optimized for its specific task, but determining implementation status requires reviewing multiple separate documentation sources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges information from multiple disciplines into a single baseline object that consolidates requirement objects, configuration management objects, and their relationships. This consolidation allows users to determine implementation status by examining a single baseline rather than reviewing separate requirement documentation and configuration management records, significantly reducing time while maintaining the precision of discipline-specific tools.
3Reliability
If separate systems are used for requirement and configuration management, then each system can maintain its own data integrity, but evaluating impact of changes on redevelopment efforts is inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the baseline object automatically tracks relationships between requirement objects and configuration management objects. When changes are made to requirements or configuration artifacts, the system can quickly evaluate impact by examining the baseline's recorded relationships, providing immediate feedback on which objects are affected without requiring manual analysis across separate systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are provided for baselining across multiple domains. Relationship information that associates a collection of requirement objects with a set of configuration management objects is stored. The collection of requirement objects is defined in a requirement management system for a software product, and the set of configuration management objects is defined in a configuration management system that is operable to manage the development of the software product. A particular requirement object from the collection of requirement objects is determined. Based on the relationship information, one or more configuration management objects that are associated with the particular requirement object are determined. A baseline that includes copies of the one or more configuration management objects is created and stored, where the copies include specific versions of the one or more configuration objects.