====== Traceability ======

[[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:start|Return to Terms and Definitions]]

===== Discussion =====

Traceability relates one architectural, logical, implementation, deployment, or evidence element to another. It allows authors and reviewers to follow a concern from concept to logical model, from logical model to implementation artifact, from implementation artifact to deployment artifact, and from deployment artifact to evidence.

Traceability supports governance, review, auditability, impact analysis, conformance assessment, replay, recovery, and controlled evolution. It helps ensure later parts specialize, realize, deploy, and test conceptual elements without redefining them.

Traceability also helps identify the scope of change. When a concept, logical element, implementation artifact, deployment artifact, or evidence requirement changes, traceability helps reviewers determine which related elements may require review.

===== Definition =====

//quality permitting relationships to be followed//

===== Source =====

Informed by SIP-RA traceable processing and implementation-independent architecture concerns; aligned with FDIS-RA traceability, provenance, comparability, and auditability concerns; adapted from FX Demo Reference Architecture traceability requirements across [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:f:financial_node|Nodes]], [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:c:communication_endpoint|Communication Endpoints]], [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:d:data_structure_definition|Data Structure Definitions]], [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:r:runtime_plane|Runtime Planes]], QoS, topics, provenance, and [[dido:99_annexes:annex-b-terms-and-definitions:e:evidence|Evidence]].

===== Note =====

Traceability does not imply that every element maps one-to-one. One conceptual element may influence multiple logical elements, and one evidence item may support multiple claims.

===== Example =====

A Communication Endpoint may trace to a logical endpoint in Part 2, a DDS Topic in Part 4, a Kubernetes deployment configuration in Part 5, and captured message evidence in an acceptance test.