# Grand Challenges of Traceability: The Next Ten Years

**Authors:** Giuliano Antoniol, Jane Cleland-Huang, Jane Huffman Hayes, Michael Vierhauser  
**arXiv:** [1710.03129](https://arxiv.org/abs/1710.03129)  
**Date:** 2017-10-09  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/arxiv-id/1710.03129v1/

## Key points

- In 2007, the Natural Bridge symposium on the Grand Challenges of Traceability was held to establish research objectives for achieving effective and widespread traceability.
- In 2017, the community reconvened to assess progress made in realizing these goals over the past decade.
- The proceedings from this symposium provide an overview of advancements in traceability practice.
- Advancements include position papers showcasing ongoing work across four key process axes: Trace Strategizing, Trace Link Creation and Evolution, Trace Link Usage, and real-world applications of Traceability.
- Topics covered during sessions included strategies for implementing traceability techniques, practical use cases in different industries, and development of datasets and benchmarks for evaluating traceability effectiveness.
- Breakout groups discussed challenges related to sharing traceability datasets within the research community and adopting tracing techniques in industrial settings.
- The research community aims to make traceability an integral part of engineering processes without leaving any discernible traces.
- They believe that traceability offers benefits in developing higher-quality products at increasingly complex levels and scales.
- Interested individuals are invited to join their active community of Software and Systems traceability researchers.

## Summary

In 2007, the software and systems traceability community convened at the inaugural Natural Bridge symposium on the Grand Challenges of Traceability. The purpose of this gathering was to establish research objectives aimed at achieving effective, trustworthy, and widespread traceability. Fast forward ten years to 2017, and the community reconvened to assess the progress made in realizing these goals over the past decade. The proceedings from this symposium provide a comprehensive overview of the advancements that have been made in traceability practice. These include a collection of concise position papers that showcase ongoing work within the community across four key process axes: Trace Strategizing, Trace Link Creation and Evolution, Trace Link Usage, and real-world applications of Traceability. During the sessions, various topics were covered such as strategies for implementing traceability techniques for creating and evolving trace links; practical use cases for traceability in different industries; and the development of datasets and benchmarks for evaluating traceability effectiveness. Additionally two breakout groups focused on the importance of sharing traceability datasets within the research community and discussed challenges related to adopting tracing techniques in industrial settings. The research community has been actively engaged in numerous impactful projects that aim to enhance traceability practices. Looking ahead to the future their hope is that they can reflect on a productive decade of research where they successfully achieve their overarching goal: making traceability an integral part of engineering processes so that it seamlessly integrates without leaving any discernible traces. Furthermore they aspire for others to recognize potential benefits that traceability offers in empowering software and systems engineers to develop higher-quality products at increasingly complex levels and scales. They invite interested individuals to join their active community of Software and Systems traceability researchers as they embark on another decade of research with renewed enthusiasm.