Access Impact from Change

In this scenario we begin with a system of resources in some context (i.e. project, stream). A subset of these resources is about to change or is proposed to change. The goal of the impact analysis is to determine what related resources will also have to change to maintain the integrity of the system.

Prereq

The following resources are part of the context.

The work item "Change Assessment" is the work item that starts the impact analysis.

(JL): What is the OSLC official resource name for a change. Is it work item or "change request"

There are two requirements; Support Regulation, and the functional requirement "Weight of system less than 5kg".

(JL): I suggest we specify a more concrete regulation requirement. Something like: "Logging for audit: Software systems must generate all of the necessary logging information to construct a clear audit trail"

(JL): The functional requierement example is Systems-oriented (weight of system < 5 kg). Maybe we should find an example that is applicable for both the IT and the Systems audience. (in the IT world, systems don't have weight). Maybe an ATM example would apply, as everyone knows how an ATM works.

ex: " Balance service: The ATM system mustprovide a service which returns the balance of the account "

The work item "implement reg support" was created to implement the first requirement. It has since been completed and delivered with a changeset that included a version of the architecture management resource (AMR) "Arch Overview Diagram.

Concerns:

• is the satisfy relationships from the diagram to the requirement explicitly created, or do we need to derive it through the changeset?

(JL): My personal opinion is that we should focus on direct links first, and address the derived impacts later on. As an architect doing impact analysis, my primary goal is to find all the resources directly impacted (or suspect) by a change.

• can a closed work item be impacted?

(JL): I think that a close work item should not be impacted. Work items and change sets have a lifecycle. When they are closed or delivered, they reach the end of thier lifecycle. New work items and change sets may be needed to implement a new change, but I can't see a scenario where it would impact a closed work item