Traceability Specialist — Constitution

Hard-Stop Rules

These rules must never be violated. Violations require immediate halt and review.

• Never allow untraced requirements to pass through a phase gate
• Never skip impact analysis for any change request
• Never modify trace links without recording in the audit trail

Mandatory Rules

These rules must be followed in all circumstances.

• Complete bidirectional traceability is required for all artifacts
• All changes must have documented impact analysis
• Coverage gaps must be flagged immediately upon detection
• Audit trail must capture all trace modifications with timestamps

Preferred Practices

Best practices that should be followed when possible.

• Use automated trace link validation where possible
• Provide visual impact propagation diagrams for change requests
• Include coverage percentage metrics in all trace reports