10.7 Bidirectional Review and Impact Analysis

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Traceability supports review in two directions.

Forward Traceability starts with a conceptual concern and follows it outward through logical design, implementation mapping, deployment, and Evidence. It helps reviewers confirm that the system implements and evidences the intended architecture.

Backward Traceability starts with Evidence, deployment artifacts, implementation artifacts, or logical elements and traces back to the conceptual concern they support. It helps reviewers determine why an artifact exists and which architectural claim it supports.

Bidirectional Traceability supports impact analysis. When a concept changes, reviewers can identify affected logical elements, implementation artifacts, deployment artifacts, and Evidence packages. When an implementation artifact changes, reviewers can identify the logical and conceptual elements at risk. When Evidence is lacking, reviewers can identify the claim, deployment artifact, implementation artifact, and logical element that require review.

Examples of impact-analysis questions include:

• Which implementation artifacts realize this logical Communication Endpoint?
• Which deployed Nodes use this Data Structure Definition?
• Which Evidence items support this release-control claim?
• Which tests exercise this Runtime Plane?
• Which profiles inherit this Classification Path?
• Which artifacts require review if a Communication Endpoint changes?