From research project objectives to milestones by means of requirements traceability: realization of an autonomous maritime system

Current research projects are developing technologies that require more and more the integration of different system capabilities placed at geographically-dispersed locations. The challenge when integrating system capabilities is to choose the right system components to be integrated in order to fulfill the deadline given by the project milestones. This paper proposes a method that shows how project objectives are achieved by means of tracing the requirements across the system development lifecycle until the milestones are reached. The approach proposed turns project objectives and its context into user requirements as well as evaluation cases into project milestones. The integration process consists of integrating functional capabilities from the system modules which are the foundation to support operational capabilities. This paper also presents a review of the stages of the system development lifecycle, and architectural elements of the system under development. It also describes aspects of the planning and scheduling for the implementation of an illustrative case study based on an autonomous maritime system, and their impact on the integration process.