What is the potential consequence of neglecting requirements traceability?

Neglecting requirements traceability can lead to misalignment with business goals because traceability is crucial for ensuring that every requirement aligns with strategic objectives. When requirements are not tracked throughout the project lifecycle, it becomes difficult to determine whether the final deliverables actually meet the original business needs. This lack of alignment can result in developing products or features that do not fulfill stakeholder expectations or overall business objectives, potentially causing project failure or necessitating expensive rework.

In contrast, maintaining traceability helps in clearly mapping requirements to business objectives, ensuring that all deliverables contribute to the desired outcomes. Furthermore, poor traceability may not lead to reduced costs or increased stakeholder engagement; in fact, the opposite is often true. Completing projects earlier might also be unlikely, as without traceability, teams may need to spend extra time correcting misaligned requirements, which ultimately extends the project delivery time.