Findability through Traceability - A Realistic Application of Candidate Trace Links?

Since software development is of a dynamic nature, the impact analysis is an inevitable work task. Traceability is known as one factor that supports this task, and several researchers have proposed traceability recovery tools to propose trace links in an existing system. However, these semi-automatic tools have not yet proven useful in industrial applications. Based on an established automation model, we analyzed the potential value of such a tool. We based our analysis on a pilot case study of an impact analysis process in a safety-critical development context, and argue that traceability recovery should be considered an investment in findability. Moreover, several risks involved in an increased level of impact analysis automation are already plaguing the state-of-practice work flow. Consequently, deploying a traceability recovery tool involves a lower degree of change than has previously been acknowledged