Tracing the evolution of artifacts

Abstract

A model called the Evolutionary Object Model is proposed as a means of keeping track of the Requirements Engineering(RE) decisions, their rationales and their effects on the RE product. Under this model an RE artifact is looked upon as an object that can evolve in three ways, by transformation, mutation, and expansion. The history of object evolution under these different evolutionary forms is kept track of in the inner, spatial and temporal histories of evolutionary objects respectively. In addition, the context in which an evolution occurs as well as the history of the decision making process which has led to it is maintained in the trace.