Dependency Link Derivation Process and Theorems of Requirements Traceability Matrix

This work proposes traceability link derivation process and theorems to establish the trace links between system objectives, requirements, design models and system/subsystems/components. The traceability relation definitions and three kinds of traceability links are defined by adopting requirements traceability reference models. Based on the definitions and graph theory, the dependency link derivation theorems are provided to derive traceability relations of requirements traceability matrix in an automatic way. The proposed approach can be served as a basis for requirements management that can deal with the requirements traceability issues, such as degree of satisfaction, strength of dependency, dependency link direction and change impact analysis.