storing, organizing, and managing all requirements of a system's specifications and typically arrange them in a specification tree that links each requirement to its parent requirement in the higher specification. Typical analysis functions based on recorded traceability information are, e.g., completeness checks i.e. do all system level requirements go down to equipment level (with or without modification), assessment of requirements deviations over all levels, and qualification status presentation. In order to ensure traceability to artifact types beyond requirements, RM tools often allow to import other artifacts as surrogate requirements that can then be traced with the tool's requirements tracing methods. The disadvantage of this approach is that different adapters or converters for the different artifact types are necessary that need to have a consistent version and data format. In contrast to ALM tools this consistency must be carried out oneself. Homogenization of data via a dedicated traceability tool - the basic concept of dedicated traceability tools consists of three essential steps: The definition of a data model a.k.a. traceability information model (TIM). This model specifies which artifact types (e.g. stakeholder requirements, software requirements, integration tests, system model elements) and how they are linked. The definition of mappings from all relevant data of all tools which are part of your development toolchain and how these data are mapped to the TIM. Metrics and analysis functions are defined on the TIM - not on data residing in a specific tool. The approach unions the advantages of the aforementioned approaches: It covers all tools and artifacts in a holistic approach, homogenizes data and avoids the risk of inconsistencies caused by outdated surrogates. The disadvantage is that this approach implies the extension of a toolchain by another (traceability) tool. Traceability Tools In many projects, people use office tools like spreadsheets for managing traceability. These tools are error-prone when you have hundreds of requirements and multiple users working on a project. You may use specialized traceability tools for effective control of your projects. See also References Software requirements Software project management