Please note : This help page is not for the latest version of Enterprise Architect. The latest help can be found here.

Trace: Tracking Dependencies

Traceability

Traceability helps to identify the way a given requirement or process has been implemented in a system, enabling you to follow the path of dependencies from the initial request, through a modeled solution and up to the deployed physical system or process.

Topics

Topic

Link

Application -  A well developed model provides full traceability in any direction - providing answers to questions such as "why was that particular hardware used in the solution"; assuming there is traceability back to a requirement that specified particular response times or functional capability.

The result sets can be used to manage elements, to create documentation or to find the location of elements within the complete model structure.

 

 

Tools Overview - There are various tools in Enterprise Architect that enable you to trace the definition and implementation of a process from initial requirement to generated code or technical deployment, or vice versa.

A good starting point is to look at the topics listed to the right, which detail some of the more useful tools.

The Traceability window, in particular, is designed to provide very detailed information about an elements immediate and distant relationships and dependencies.

The Traceability Window

Relationship Matrix

Gap Analysis Matrix

The Relationships Window

The Project Browser

Example Diagram

Traceability Tools

 

Tracing Transformations - If you have performed any Transformations in developing your model and code, Enterprise Architect automatically creates Transformation Dependency connectors that you can trace - with the Traceability window - to establish what objects and code have been generated from each PSM element, or what the initial PSM element was for a generated object.

Whether you use transformations or develop the stages of the model in other ways, you can build up a range of Traceability diagrams (Custom diagrams) to identify the development pathway and the dependencies between entities such as Requirements, Use Cases, Classes, Packages, Test Cases and other model artefacts, or possibly between these entities and the overall business process model.

 

Model Transformation

The Traceability Window

Example (Traceability) Diagram

A Complete Business Process