Automating speculative queries through event-based requirements traceability

Posing speculative questions about a software system is an important yet often unsupported activity. Current impact analysis techniques tend to focus upon the functionality of the system, whilst the effects of change upon performance requirements are largely ignored until after implementation. This tendency can lead to costly and time-consuming mistakes. Event-based traceability provides a robust method for handling both long-term evolutionary change as well as the short-term speculative change needed to support performance related impact analysis. By establishing dynamic links, capable of propagating data values and commands between requirements and performance models, it becomes possible to automate a wide range of speculative queries and to enhance the overall ability to predict the impact of change upon the performance of the system.