Lessons · Project management · requirements traceability
Traceability: every requirement can be followed to the thing that proves it
A requirements traceability matrix links each requirement to the business need it serves, the WBS element that builds it, and the test that proves it was met.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by an experienced project manager. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.
What it is for
Testing finds that a report is missing. Who asked for it, why, and was it ever built? With a traceability matrix that is one row. Without it, it is a week of old emails, and the answer is still a guess.
How to think about it
Give every requirement an id. In one table, write for each id: the need it came from, the owner, the WBS element, and the test. A requirement with no test cannot be accepted; a WBS element with no requirement is scope creep, found early.
Worked example
R-07: export timesheets to payroll monthlyThe requirement, with an id it keeps for life.
From: the charter purpose, payroll closes in 2 days. Owner: the payroll managerWhy it exists and who will say it is right.
Built in: 1.3.2 Payroll export. Tested by: T-19, a full month exported with zero correctionsWhere it is built and how it is proved.
R-12: dashboard with animated charts. From: nobodyA requirement with no need behind it. Found in planning, not at handover.
Your turn
Write the column that makes a requirement acceptable.
Every requirement has a that proves it was met.
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Tracing forward only. From need to test catches missing tests; from test back to need catches work nobody asked for. Both directions, or half the value.