CAPM Practice: Validate requirements through product delivery

Traceability enables complete validation: by tracing requirements to test cases, teams can confirm every requirement has been tested. Gaps in traceability reveal requirements that were never tested — potential validation failures. This is especially critical in regulated industries.

**Why not A:** Requirements traceability is not about tracking how many times a requirement has been discussed in meetings. Traceability links requirements to their origin (business need), through design and development, and forward to testing and validation. Counting discussions provides no meaningful insight into whether requirements are being properly implemented and verified.

**Why not B:** While version control of requirements changes is a useful practice, it does not define traceability and validation. Version history tracks what changed and when, but traceability specifically ensures each requirement can be traced from its source through implementation to test cases. Validation confirms that the delivered solution actually meets the stated requirements.

**Why not D:** Requirements traceability is not primarily a legal mechanism for tracing contracts. While traceability documentation can support contractual compliance in some contexts, its core purpose is ensuring that every requirement is accounted for throughout the project lifecycle—from origin to delivery—and that nothing is lost, duplicated, or implemented without justification.