Links and traceability

Links give you traceability, so you can check that what you are building satisfies your user requirements. Links also allow you to manage change. You can quickly find out what impact a change has on your project.

For example, the engineering department tells you that they cannot deliver the solar-powered battery that you were expecting. You can trace the links from the battery object back to the requirements that depend on it. You can also trace the links forward to the other features of the car that depend on having a solar-powered battery. You can quickly see the full impact of not having a solar-powered battery. You can make an informed decision about whether to use a conventional battery or whether to invest more to deliver a solar-powered battery.

For information about links and traceability, see this video on YouTube: IBM Rational DOORS - Linking and traceability.