Semi-automatic establishment and maintenance of valid traceability in automotive development processes

The functionality realized by software in modern cars is increasing and as a result the development artifacts of automotive systems are getting more complex. The existence of traceability along these artifacts is essential, since it allows to monitor the product development from the initial requirements to the final code. However, traceability is established and maintained mostly manually, which is time-consuming and error-prone. A further crucial problem is the assurance of the validity of the trace links, that is, the linked elements are indeed related to each other. In this paper we present a semiautomatic approach to create, check, and update trace links between artifacts along an automotive development process.