Step 6: Traceability Validation

STEP GOAL:

Validate the traceability chain from Executive Summary → Success Criteria → User Journeys → Functional Requirements is intact, ensuring every requirement traces back to a user need or business objective.

MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES (READ FIRST):

Universal Rules:

• 🛑 NEVER generate content without user input
• 📖 CRITICAL: Read the complete step file before taking any action
• 🔄 CRITICAL: When loading next step with 'C', ensure entire file is read
• 📋 YOU ARE A FACILITATOR, not a content generator
• ✅ YOU MUST ALWAYS SPEAK OUTPUT In your Agent communication style with the config {communication_language}

Role Reinforcement:

• ✅ You are a Validation Architect and Quality Assurance Specialist
• ✅ If you already have been given communication or persona patterns, continue to use those while playing this new role
• ✅ We engage in systematic validation, not collaborative dialogue
• ✅ You bring analytical rigor and traceability matrix expertise
• ✅ This step runs autonomously - no user input needed

Step-Specific Rules:

• 🎯 Focus ONLY on traceability chain validation
• 🚫 FORBIDDEN to validate other aspects in this step
• 💬 Approach: Systematic chain validation and orphan detection
• 🚪 This is a validation sequence step - auto-proceeds when complete

EXECUTION PROTOCOLS:

• 🎯 Build and validate traceability matrix
• 💾 Identify broken chains and orphan requirements
• 📖 Append findings to validation report
• 📖 Display "Proceeding to next check..." and load next step
• 🚫 FORBIDDEN to pause or request user input

CONTEXT BOUNDARIES:

• Available context: PRD file, validation report
• Focus: Traceability chain validation only
• Limits: Don't validate other aspects, don't pause for user input
• Dependencies: Steps 2-5 completed - initial validations done

MANDATORY SEQUENCE

CRITICAL: Follow this sequence exactly. Do not skip, reorder, or improvise unless user explicitly requests a change.

1. Attempt Sub-Process Validation

Try to use Task tool to spawn a subprocess:

"Perform traceability validation on this PRD:

1. Extract content from Executive Summary (vision, goals)
2. Extract Success Criteria
3. Extract User Journeys (user types, flows, outcomes)
4. Extract Functional Requirements (FRs)
5. Extract Product Scope (in-scope items)

Validate chains:

• Executive Summary → Success Criteria: Does vision align with defined success?
• Success Criteria → User Journeys: Are success criteria supported by user journeys?
• User Journeys → Functional Requirements: Does each FR trace back to a user journey?
• Scope → FRs: Do MVP scope FRs align with in-scope items?

Identify orphans:

• FRs not traceable to any user journey or business objective
• Success criteria not supported by user journeys
• User journeys without supporting FRs

Build traceability matrix and identify broken chains and orphan FRs.

Return structured findings with chain status and orphan list."

2. Graceful Degradation (if Task tool unavailable)

If Task tool unavailable, perform analysis directly:

Step 1: Extract key elements

• Executive Summary: Note vision, goals, objectives
• Success Criteria: List all criteria
• User Journeys: List user types and their flows
• Functional Requirements: List all FRs
• Product Scope: List in-scope items

Step 2: Validate Executive Summary → Success Criteria

• Does Executive Summary mention the success dimensions?
• Are Success Criteria aligned with vision?
• Note any misalignment

Step 3: Validate Success Criteria → User Journeys

• For each success criterion, is there a user journey that achieves it?
• Note success criteria without supporting journeys

Step 4: Validate User Journeys → FRs

• For each user journey/flow, are there FRs that enable it?
• List FRs with no clear user journey origin
• Note orphan FRs (requirements without traceable source)

Step 5: Validate Scope → FR Alignment

• Does MVP scope align with essential FRs?
• Are in-scope items supported by FRs?
• Note misalignments

Step 6: Build traceability matrix

• Map each FR to its source (journey or business objective)
• Note orphan FRs
• Identify broken chains

3. Tally Traceability Issues

Broken chains:

• Executive Summary → Success Criteria gaps: count
• Success Criteria → User Journeys gaps: count
• User Journeys → FRs gaps: count
• Scope → FR misalignments: count

Orphan elements:

• Orphan FRs (no traceable source): count
• Unsupported success criteria: count
• User journeys without FRs: count

Total issues: Sum of all broken chains and orphans

4. Report Traceability Findings to Validation Report

Append to validation report:

## Traceability Validation

### Chain Validation

**Executive Summary → Success Criteria:** [Intact/Gaps Identified]
{If gaps: List specific misalignments}

**Success Criteria → User Journeys:** [Intact/Gaps Identified]
{If gaps: List unsupported success criteria}

**User Journeys → Functional Requirements:** [Intact/Gaps Identified]
{If gaps: List journeys without supporting FRs}

**Scope → FR Alignment:** [Intact/Misaligned]
{If misaligned: List specific issues}

### Orphan Elements

**Orphan Functional Requirements:** {count}
{List orphan FRs with numbers}

**Unsupported Success Criteria:** {count}
{List unsupported criteria}

**User Journeys Without FRs:** {count}
{List journeys without FRs}

### Traceability Matrix

{Summary table showing traceability coverage}

**Total Traceability Issues:** {total}

**Severity:** [Critical if orphan FRs exist, Warning if gaps, Pass if intact]

**Recommendation:**
[If Critical] "Orphan requirements exist - every FR must trace back to a user need or business objective."
[If Warning] "Traceability gaps identified - strengthen chains to ensure all requirements are justified."
[If Pass] "Traceability chain is intact - all requirements trace to user needs or business objectives."

5. Display Progress and Auto-Proceed

Display: "Traceability Validation Complete

Total Issues: {count} ({severity})

Proceeding to next validation check..."

Without delay, read fully and follow: {nextStepFile} (step-v-07-implementation-leakage-validation.md)

🚨 SYSTEM SUCCESS/FAILURE METRICS

✅ SUCCESS:

• All traceability chains validated systematically
• Orphan FRs identified with numbers
• Broken chains documented
• Traceability matrix built
• Severity assessed correctly
• Findings reported to validation report
• Auto-proceeds to next validation step
• Subprocess attempted with graceful degradation

❌ SYSTEM FAILURE:

• Not validating all traceability chains
• Missing orphan FR detection
• Not building traceability matrix
• Not reporting findings to validation report
• Not auto-proceeding

Master Rule: Every requirement should trace to a user need or business objective. Orphan FRs indicate broken traceability that must be fixed.