Connect Requirements

Abstract

A Requirement element can be connected to other Requirements, most commonly using Aggregate relationships to form a hierarchy of requirements.

Requirements are also connected to other types of element, most commonly Use Cases, by Realize or Implements relationships.

These relationships are very important, both in identifying how the Requirements are organized and used in the model, and in tracing the development from the Requirements throughout the model. Both of these tasks are very simple in Enterprise Architect, because once a connector on a Requirement exists, Enterprise Architect automatically lists the Requirement in the:

• Requirements Traceability window (an important tool in examining the role of Requirements in the model)
• Specification Manager
• 'Requirements' tab of the target element 'Properties' dialog
• 'Links' tab of the Requirement element 'Properties' dialog
• Responsibilities window
• Relationships Window
• Dependency and Implementation reports
• Standard document output

The connector itself is also listed in the 'Links' tab of the target element 'Properties' dialog, and in the Relationship Matrix. There are, therefore, many ways to locate, view and track Requirement relationships.

Connect On Diagram

Relationships can be created on a diagram by clicking on the appropriate connector icon from the Requirement and Common pages of the Toolbox, clicking on the source (originating) element, and dragging to the target element.

If you are connecting elements in different Packages, you can drag elements from the Project Browser onto a common diagram and set up the relationships there.

Quick Generation Of Realize Connector

You can quickly generate a Realize connector by dragging an existing Requirement element from the Project Browser into a diagram, over the element that implements the Requirement (usually a Use Case).

Enterprise Architect interprets this as a request to create the Realize connector and does so automatically. The Requirement element is not added to the diagram. However, if you subsequently drag the Requirement onto the diagram the connector is already in place.

Connect Off Diagram

You can also connect a Requirement element to other elements without necessarily having the elements on the same diagram, or having a diagram open.

Use the Relationship Matrix to create relationships for requirements; this is a convenient way of quickly building up complex relationships and hierarchies.