Which approach is commonly used to maintain requirement traceability?

The commonly used approach for maintaining requirement traceability is through the use of Traceability Repositories. This method involves systematically documenting the relationships between requirements and other project artifacts throughout their lifecycle. Traceability Repositories help ensure that each requirement can be traced back to its source and forward to its implementation, which is essential for impact analysis, validation, and verification processes.

Using a Traceability Repository allows teams to efficiently track changes in requirements and their corresponding impacts on design, testing, and implementation. This structured form of documentation enhances communication among stakeholders and aids in maintaining a clear audit trail, which is crucial for ensuring compliance and managing project scope.

In contrast, relying solely on manual documentation can lead to inconsistencies and incomplete tracking, while creative brainstorming sessions are more suited for idea generation and may not systematically capture all requirement relationships. Verbal communication does not provide a reliable or permanent record of traceability, making it difficult to keep track of evolving requirements over time. Therefore, a Traceability Repository stands out as the best practice for maintaining requirement traceability.