10.2 Traceability Across Layers

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Traceability across layers preserves architectural meaning as later parts specialise, realise, deploy, and provide Evidence for the conceptual architecture.

Each layer has a distinct Traceability responsibility:

Table 10.2-1: Traceability responsibilities across architectural layers

Layer	Traceability responsibility
Conceptual Architecture	Defines stable concepts and conceptual boundaries.
Logical Architecture / Platform Independent Model (PIM)	Specialises conceptual elements into platform-independent logical structures, relationships, and constraints.
Implementation Profile / Platform Specific Model (PSM)	Maps logical elements to selected implementation technologies and artefacts.
Deployment Profile	Describes how implementation artefacts run in a concrete environment.
Evidence	Supports claims about architecture, implementation, deployment, execution, Interpretation, Governance and Authority, or review.

Traceability keeps these layers connected without allowing one layer to redefine another. A logical element may specialise a conceptual element. An implementation artefact may realise a logical element. A deployment artefact may execute or configure an implementation artefact. Evidence may support a claim about any of these layers.

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