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HowtoCreateRequirementsTraceabilityMatrix
ExactProcesswithSampleTMTemplate
PostedIn|SoftwareTestingTemplates,TestingConcepts,TestingMethodologies|LastUpdated:"March16,
2016"
TraceabilityMatrixHowtoCreateandUseIt
TodayssessionisaboutanimportantQCtool,thatiseitheroversimplified(readoverlooked)orover
emphasizedTraceabilityMatrix(TM).
Mostoften,themaking,reviewingorsharingofaTraceabilityMatrixisnotoneoftheprimaryQAprocess
deliverablessoitisnotmajorlyconcentratedon,thuscausingtheunderemphasis.Onthecontrary,some
clientsexpectaTMtorevealearthshatteringfacetsabouttheirproduct(undertest)andaredisappointed.
Whenusedright,aTraceabilityMatrixcanbeyourGPSforyourQAjourney.
AsisageneralpracticeatSTH,wewillseetheWhatandHowaspectsaboutaTMinthisarticle.

WhatisaTraceabilityMatrix?
Thefocusofanytestingengagementisandshouldbemaximumtestcoverage.Bycoverage,itsimplymeansthat
weneedtotesteverythingthereistobetested.Theaimofanytestingprojectshouldbe100%testcoverage.
RequirementsTraceabilityMatrixtobeginwith,establishesawaytomakesureweplacechecksonthecoverage
aspect.Ithelpsincreatingasnapshottoidentifycoveragegaps.

HowtoCreateaTraceabilityMatrix?
Tobeingwithweneedtoknowexactlywhatisitthatneedstobetrackedortraced.
Testersstartwritingtheirtestscenarios/objectivesandeventuallythetestcasesbasedonsomeinputdocuments
Businessrequirementsdocument,FunctionalSpecificationsdocumentandTechnicaldesigndocument
(optional).
Letssuppose,thefollowingisourBusinessrequirementsdocument(BRD):(DownloadthissampleBRD
inexcelformat)
(Clickanyimagetoenlarge)

ThebelowisourFunctionalSpecificationsdocument(FSD)basedontheinterpretationoftheBusiness
requirementsdocument(BRD)andtheadaptationofittocomputerapplications.IdeallyalltheaspectsofFSD
needtobeaddressedintheBRD.ButforsimplicityssakeIhaveonlyusedthepoints1and2.
SampleFSDfromAboveBRD:(DownloadthissampleFSDinexcelformat)

Note:theBRDandFSDarenotdocumentedbyQAteams.Wearemerely,theconsumersofthedocuments
alongwiththeotherprojectsteams.
Basedontheabovetwoinputdocuments,astheQAteamwecameupwiththebelowlisthighlevelscenarios
forustotest.
SampleTestScenariosfromtheAboveBRDandFSD:(DownloadthissampletestScenariosfile)

Oncewearrivehere,nowwouldbeagoodtimetostartcreatingtherequirementstraceabilitymatrix.
Ipersonallypreferaverysimpleexcelsheetwithcolumnsforeachdocumentthatwewishtotrack.Sincethe
businessrequirementsandfunctionalrequirementsarenotnumbereduniquelywearegoingtousethesection
numbersinthedocumenttotrack.(Youcanchoosetotrackbasedonlinenumbersorbulletedpointnumbersetc.
dependingonwhatmakesmostsenseforyourcaseinparticular.)
HereishowasimpleTraceabilityMatrixwouldlookforourexample:

Theabovedocumentestablishesatracebetween,theBRDtoFSDandeventuallytothetestscenarios.By
creatingadocumentlikethis,wecanmakesureeveryaspectoftheinitialrequirementshavebeentakeninto
considerationbythetestingteamforcreatingtheirtestsuites.
Youcanleaveitthisway.However,inordertomakeitmorereadable,Ipreferincludingthesectionnames.This
willenhanceunderstandingwhenthisdocumentissharedwiththeclientoranyotherteams.Theoutcomeisas
below:

Again,thechoicetousetheformerformatorthelaterisyours.
ThisisthepreliminaryversionofyourTMbutgenerallydoesnotserveitspurposewhenyoustophere.
Maximumbenefitscanbereapedfromitwhenyouextrapolateitallthewaytodefects.
Letsseehow.

Foreachtestscenariothatyoucameupwith,youaregoingtohaveatleast1ormoretestcases.So,include
anothercolumnwhenyougetthereandwritethetestcaseIDsasshowsbelow:

Atthisstage,theTraceabilityMatrixcanbeusedtofindgaps.Forexample,intheaboveTraceabilityMatrixyou
seethattherearenotestcaseswrittenforFSDsection1.2.
Asageneralrule,anyemptyspacesintheTraceabilityMatrixarepotentialareasforinvestigation.Soagaplike
thiscanmeanoneofthetwothings:
1. ThetestteamhassomehowmissedconsideringtheExistinguserfunctionality.
2. TheExistinguserfunctionalityhasbeendeferredtolaterorremovedfromtheapplicationsfunctionality
requirements.Inthiscase,theTMshowsaninconsistencyintheFSDorBRDwhichmeansthatan
updateonFSDand/orBRDdocumentsshouldbedone.
Ifitisscenario1,itwillindicatetheplaceswheretestteamneedstoworksomemoretoensure100%coverage.
Inscenarios2,TMnotjustshowsgapsitpointstoincorrectdocumentationthatneedsimmediatecorrection.
LetusnowexpandtheTMtoincludetestcaseexecutionstatusanddefects.
ThebelowversionoftheTraceabilityMatrixisgenerallypreparedduringoraftertestexecution:

Downloadrequirementstraceabilitymatrixtemplatehere:TraceabilityMatrixinexcelformat

ImportantPointstoNoteAboutTraceabilityMatrix

ThefollowingaretheimportantpointstonoteaboutthisversionoftheTraceabilityMatrix:
1)Theexecutionstatusisalsodisplayed.Duringexecution,itgivesaconsolidatedsnapshotofhowworkis
progressing.
2)Defects:WhenthiscolumnisusedtoestablishthebackwardtraceabilitywecantellthattheNewuser
functionalityisthemostflawed.Insteadofreportingthatsoandsotestcasesfailed,TMprovidesatransparency
backtothebusinessrequirementthathasmostdefectsthusshowcasingtheQualityintermsofwhattheclient
desires.
3)Asafurtherstep,youcancolorcodethedefectIDtorepresenttheirstates.Forexample,defectIDinredcan
meanitisstillOpen,ingreencanmeanitisclosed.Whenthisisdone,theTMworksasahealthcheckreport
displayingthestatusofthedefectscorrespondingtoacertainBRDorFSDfunctionalityisbeingopenorclosed.
4)Ifthereisatechnicaldesigndocumentorusecasesoranyotherartifactsthatyouwouldliketotrackyoucan
alwaysexpandtheabovecreateddocumenttosuityourneedsbyaddingadditionalcolumns.
Tosumup,arequirementstraceabilityMatrixhelpsin:
1. Ensuring100%testcoverage
2. Showingrequirement/documentinconsistencies
3. Displayingtheoveralldefect/executionstatuswithfocusonbusinessrequirements.
4. Ifacertainbusinessand/orfunctionalrequirementweretochange,aTMhelpsestimateoranalyzethe
impactontheQAteamsworkintermsofrevisiting/reworkingonthetestcases.
Additionally,
1. ATMisnotamanualtestingspecifictool,itcanbeusedforautomationprojectsaswell.Foran
automationproject,thetestcaseIDcanindicatetheautomationtestscriptname.
2. ItisalsonotatoolthatcanbeusedjustbytheQAs.Thedevelopmentteamcanusethesametomap
BRD/FSDrequirementstoblocks/units/conditionsofcodecreatedtomakesurealltherequirementsare
developed.
3. TestmanagementtoolslikeHPALMcomewiththeinbuilttraceabilityfeature.
Animportantpointtonoteisthat,thewayyoumaintainandupdateyourTraceabilityMatrixdeterminesthe
effectivenessofitsuse.Ifnotupdatedoftenorupdatedincorrectlythetoolisaburdeninsteadofbeingahelp
andcreatestheimpressionthatthetoolbyitselfitnotworthyofusing.
HaveyoucreatedaTraceabilityMatrixinyourprojects?Howsimilarordifferentisitfromwhatwehave
createdinthisarticle?Pleaseshareyourexperiences,comments,thoughtsandfeedbackonthisarticle
throughyourcomments.
AboutAuthor:ThisisanarticlebySTHteammemberSwatiSeela.
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82comments
#1Mohsin
GoodArticel,whichgivesclearpictureonTM!
#2Akshayaa
nice.butstepstomaintaintraceabiltiymatrixinQCcanbeadded
#3VISHALM
thanksforsharing.!!!
#4TrueTesters
Thankyou..NowigottheclearideaaboutTraceabilityMatrix..
#5Ram
Excellentanddetailedpost.
#6olayinkashola
Goodmaterial.Thankyou.
#7Aarthi
GotclearpictureofRTM,thankyouforthepost
#8willsmith
Thanksforthegreatpost.ThisposthelpedmealottounderstandtheTM.
CanyoupleasepostontheTestscenarios.HowtoidentifytheScenariosinanwebapplication.doesallthe
methodsoftesting(FT,IT,ST)comeunderaonescenario.
#9ShrutiK
thisisverysimpleandeffectivemethodtotrackrequirements.
thankyouforsharing

#10Keilla
verynicematerial
#11SwatiSeela
@Akshayaa:QCdoesnotcreateatraceabilityMatrix.itjustmakessurethattraceabilityisanintegralpart
oftheentiretestmanagementprocess.PleasecheckoutourQCtutorialsforhowtoachievethat:
http://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/learnhpqualitycenterqcin4days/
#12jayashree
verynicearticle.
#13Devi
IamnewtoSoftwareTesting.IgotaclearpictureofTRM.
Thanksforyourpost.Pleaseprovidesomemore.
#14Satish
Thanksforsharingtheartical.CanyouplzsharetheSmoketestcaseformat?
#15Prachi
NowigotclearunderstandaboutTM.
Thanksforsharing.
#16SangramKumarDas
Nicearticle..goodcontentsandeasytounderstand.
#17Ahmedfathi
Reallysothanksforthesevaluedarticlesandwaitingformore
#18KiranJ
superbinsimplewords.IsawsomanycomplexTMsbutthisoneisthesimplest.
#19MartinBogdanov
Greattopic.ItdescribesthecorrectwayofcreatingandmaintainingaTM.
#20NitiSoni
Veryhelpfulmaterial.Thanks!
#21YogeshKoshti
Youwrote:IdeallyalltheaspectsofFSDneedtobeaddressedintheBRD.
Ithinkitshouldbeexactlyoppositestatement
#22MichaelWharton
Afterreadingthisarticle,Iwantedtoaskaquestion.WejustswitchedfromQCtoJIRAandwenow
houseourtestsinthereaswell.Now,IrightmyTestCasesinanexcelspreadsheetandimporttheminto
JIRAoncetheyhavebeensignedoffascompletebyDevelopmentandtheBusinessowner.CantheTM
taketheplaceofmyTestCasespreadsheetorshouldIstillusebothtomakesureIhavemaximumtest
coverage.Seemslikebotharekindofawasteoftime.

Thanks,
MichaelW
#23AmitTanwar
Verynicearticle.GivesaclearunderstandingonTM
#24Rajesh
Niceone
#25GeetanjaliNegi
Thanksforthisarticle.ItgivesmeaclearpictureoftheTM.AmysteryofTMgotsolvedformenow.The
exmapleisverygood.
#26DilipSingh
NiceArticles,itsreallyhelpme..Thanks
#27RobertDunlop
NicetoverifythattheTMIuseissimilarinlayoutandlogictoothers.Ilikedthecolourcoding,that
illustratesaninstanthealthcheck.
Ialsousethedatatoinputintochartsthatareusedforweekly/monthlymanagementreports.
OnlysuggestionwouldbefillinthegapsinBRDandFSDcolumnstoallowsortingandfiltering,without
corruptingthedata.
#28balirunoivan
thankyouforTMITSGOOD
#29Asif
Thewayitisdefineitiseasytounderstand.Thanks
#30faraaz
HiVinay,
SoingivenexcelsheetifinQCithinknoneedtoprepareTraceabilityMatrixrightaseverythingitis
coveredbyTestCoverageanalysisandonlyifwearenotusingthetoolweneedtheaboveTraceability
Matrix.
tHANKS
#31Pradeep
NicePost
#32SiddhantRaut
iyetnotcreatedTMbutthiswillhelpmealottounderstandcreateformyprojects.
#33Sunil
Goodarticle.StartedwithQCstepsbuttheyarenotadded
#34Swati
@Sunil:TheQCinthefirstlinestandsforQualitycontrolnotHPQualitycenterthatswhyyoudidnot

findanyQCstepssorryabouttheconfusion.Wetriedtokeepthisgeneric.Ihopeyoufoundtherestof
thearticlehelpful.
#35NiketaBihani
Veryinformativeandexplainatorypost.Thanksforpostingit.ItgivesmeclearpictureaboutRTM.
#36priyanka
Brilliant!!
thanksatonne,ineededthisinformationbadly.:)
#37Domnic
Istumbledonyoursitewhilesearchingfortraceabilitymatrix.ReallyNicearticle,thankyouSwatiSeela
andthanyoutoSTHteam
Domnic
#38Jitendra
Verynicearticle.Informativeandveryuseful.
thanksalotforwritingthisarticle
#39Testing_Ratz
ExcellentArticleonTM.ItshelpsmetocreateTmformyproject.
Tnx
#40sasi
wellexplained.goodone..
#41keerthan
Reallyverygoodarticle..clearedallmydoubtswhichIhadonkeypurposeofwritingTM..
#42Sahil
Nicepost
Justathoughtafterreadingthepost..
WhenaprojectisusingHPQualitycentre,istherestillaneedtocreateandmaintainthisRTMasQCit
selfhasaReqtabandmostoftenReqareuploadedinQCandalinkisestablistedbetweenREQandTest
scriptsthatwecreate.
#43Saroja
Hi,Thankyouverymuchforpostingvaluablearticle.IlearnedsomuchaboutTM.Keepupyourgood
work.
#44Renuka
Goodone.OnesuggestionWecouldevenprovidelinktothetestcaseidanddefectidtointheTMmake
itmoreuserfriendly.
#45Chandrashekhar
Thankyousomuchforthis
#46PP

Reallyeasytounderstand
#47ss
NowigottheclearideaaboutTraceabilityMatrix..thanks
#48GaneshKiran
Greatpost!!!
Ididthispartofthetestmanagement,butneverthoughtamdoingtestingtraceability.
Youexactlyexplainedwhatwedo.
#49Anup
Goodpost
#50Anup
greatpost!!!
#51priya
ReallygreatinformationtounderstandTM.
ThanksaLot.
#52Ishrat
GottheclearideaaboutTraceabilityMatrix.
Thanks.
#53Dheeru
AwesomesiteEverythingisveryclearlyexplained.Nicework
THANKS
#54Rohit
Nicearticleandalsoaverynicesite
#55GirishGovind
Goodone.Verynicelyprotrayed.
#56sunandha
Verywellexplained.Thanks
#57sumit
Itsexactlywhatirequire..!!Thanksalot
#58Mubashir
Goodexplanation.Thankyou!
#59mahadev

Excellentitsveryhelpfulformethankyouverymuch
#60soumya
GooddocumentonRTM.
#61Harish
RequirementsTraceabilityMatrixtobeginwith,establishesawaytomakesureweplacechecksonthe
coverageaspect.Ithelpsincreatingasnapshottoidentifycoveragegaps.Itdefinitelydidcreatea
snapshotoftheTraceabilityMatrixconceptinmymemory.
#62parul
GotclearpictureofRTM,thankyouforthepost
#63SudhindraDeshpande
Hi,whoisresponsibleforRTM?
whoallcanviewit?
supposethereare3modulesand3testengineersareworkingonthem,
thenhowtheywillupdatetheRTM?
oreveryonewillpreparethereownofperticularmoduleandthenitgetcollborated?
Thanksinadvance
#64Rizwan
Greatjob.
#65Anand
Itisanicearticle.
Itwillbefurtheruseful,ifthedetailsofrecordingmetricsversionwisehowtoadd.Andalsofewmore
linesaboutForwardTM&BackwardTM.
#66Meghana
Itreallygoodandinformative
#67RohitK
Reallyveryveryhelpful
#68karthikvedam
goodjobthanku
#69ShaileshPachori
reallygoodinformation.thisisveryusefultounderstandtechnicaljargonandeasytoadoptable.
#70neeraj
goodexample
#71abhay
VeryGoodArticle
#72goodone

goodoneveryhelpful
#73ToshiJain
Verywellexplained.
Thankew.
#74pranay
Thiswebsiteandthearticlesyouareprovidingisquitefantastic.Veryusefulingainingtherealtime
knowledge.Thetutorialsyourwebsitecoveredismorehelpfulforexpertsandfreshersaswell.
Thankyousomuch.
#75Shahnaz
Veryclear!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#76Katrine
Thankyouforexplanationonclearexamples.OnmyprojectsIhaveusedthesameapproachbutuntil
todayIevendon`taskedmyselfthatthisapproachformanagingalltherequirementsiscalledTM.And
alwaysthoughtthatIdon`tknowthetermTM))))
#77Raghu
Goodone
#78Joe
Re:#27
ImadeacopyoftheTMtab,anddidasRobertsuggested.
IcaneMailit,ifnecessary.
Joe
#79Tejeshwarjaiswal
Thanksforthepost.Itsreallyagood&helpfularticle.
IwouldliketoaskthequestionsameasSudhindrai.e.
whoisresponsibleforRTM?
whoallcanviewit?
Supposethereare3modulesand3testengineersareworkingonthem,thenhowtheywillupdatethe
RTM?
oreveryonewillpreparethereownofperticularmoduleandthenitgetcollaborated?
#80Sania
Verypreciselywritten,thanksSwati!
#81sulabh
verygoodarticle,gottheclearoverviewofRTM
#82Bala
Articleisverygood,wegotfullpictureonTM.

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