Advantages of requirements traceability Copy link to clipboard
In a system & software development process, where a large amount of work items are related, it is necessary to keep track of the relationships among them. Typical work items, also known as artifacts, are models, specifications, test cases, software units, source code and test results. So, your Simulink models are just one kind of artifact next to potentially many others.
Requirements traceability is the ability to follow the relationships between such artifacts e.g. from a requirement to the related architecture model element and from this to the corresponding Simulink model element. Establishing requirements traceability in development processes is mandated by many standards, such as Automotive Spice or ISO 26262. These standards are being followed primarily in the automotive sector and ensure functional safety and product quality during the development process.
To give an example let us consider the following scenario which is also illustrated by the following video. In this scenario several tools and artifact types are involved. DOORS is used to specify system and software requirements. Excel sheets are used for system interfaces, test specifications, and test results. Enterprise Architect UML models define the software architecture. Next to them, further artifact types like XML files or C code Simulink and Stateflow models are used for implementing the software control logic.
Navigate between itemis ANALYZE , itemis Model Viewer and the original tool
itemis Model Viewer tightly integrates with itemis ANALYZE which is a dedicated solution for requirements traceability and thus also provides a powerful requirements and artifact tracing solution for your Simulink models.
itemis ANALYZE allows you to have the overview of the links between all these (and many other) artifacts types. To get into more detail, you can navigate to a specific Simulink model element in itemis Model Viewer or directly to Simulink, if required. Within itemis Model Viewer each element is accompanied by an icon which indicates existing trace links to other artifacts. From this trace indicator you can easily open the list of linked artifacts and directly navigate to these by opening their original tool e.g. a unit test specification can be traced and be opened in Microsoft Excel.
Visualization of a Simulink model with traces in itemis ANALYZE
To sum up, together with itemis Model Viewer, itemis ANALYZE provides a full requirements and artifact traceability solution. You can trace Simulink models (.mdl and .slx files) on a block level and visualize the trace information in different ways.
The seamless integration of a large number of tools allows you to directly navigate to all linked artifacts including your Simulink models, in order to easily access corresponding requirements, documentation, etc.
itemis ANALYZE even allows the extraction of individual properties from the linked artifacts. These, for example, can be specific Simulink block properties or status information from requirements or test results. You can investigate them and use them as additional information for further analysis and reports, like coverage or impact analysis or project status reports.
Extract individual properties from Simulink blocks
Using traceability for Simulink and Stateflow models requires installation and configuration of itemis ANALYZE.
Try out itemis Model Viewer and trace Simulink models in combination with itemis ANALYZE!