Doorstop: Text-Based Requirements Management Using Version Control

Abstract

Effectively managing the requirements and traceability in a complex software project can be a challenging task. Many tools exist to support the initial creation and management of changes to text-based requirements. The most popular commercial solutions use a centralized server to host a database with a front-end desktop or web interface. Some downsides to this approach include user interface bloat, server costs, and an inherent disconnection from the project’s source files. To provide an alternative to traditional requirements management, Doorstop was created as a tool to allow requirements to be stored as text files in version control. This solution allows a project to utilize its existing development tools to manage versions of the requirements using a lightweight, developer-friendly interface.