Requirements Traceability Starter

requirements-traceability-starter

Purpose

Create an initial traceability structure linking goals, requirements, acceptance criteria, design items, and tests.

Trigger this skill when

• A project is becoming large enough that requirement drift is a risk.
• There will be multiple artifacts or teams.
• You need change impact visibility later.

Expected inputs

• goals
• requirements
• acceptance criteria
• design placeholders

Deliverables

• traceability matrix starter
• ID scheme
• coverage gaps

Operating procedure

1. Assign stable IDs to goals, requirements, and criteria.
2. Link each requirement to source goal/stakeholder need.
3. Link criteria to requirements and note future design/test links.
4. Flag requirements with no source or no acceptance coverage.

Quality gates

• IDs are stable and readable.
• Every requirement has a source.
• Uncovered requirements are explicitly flagged.

Handoff targets

• requirements-gap-auditor
• test-design packs later
• change-impact work later

Output style

• Be explicit about uncertainty.
• Prefer short, testable statements over long prose.
• Surface risk and ambiguity instead of guessing.
• Separate facts, assumptions, constraints, and open questions.

Failure modes to avoid

• Do not invent stakeholder intent.
• Do not convert preferences into mandatory requirements without evidence.
• Do not hide unresolved ambiguity behind polished wording.
• Do not collapse functional, non-functional, and business rule concerns into one blob.

Minimum output skeleton

## Summary
## Findings
## Structured outputs
## Assumptions
## Constraints
## Open questions
## Recommended next skill