NFR+ framework method to support bi-directional traceability of non-functional requirements

Accurate and correctly defined requirements are of importance to ensure the production of feasible products. For requirements engineering, it is not enough that functional requirements are accurately defined and considered in software development but vital non-functional requirements require special attention because they often are cross-cutting concerns and difficult to interpret during design. Not only requirements have to be carefully considered but they also have to be implemented and the implementation must be validated against the original requirements. This is facilitated if a bi-directional traceability link between requirements and implementation is maintained. NFR+ Framework supported by a tool enables to do that in the context of Domain-Specific Modeling (DSM). In this publication, we propose a method for applying such a framework supported by a tool to enable maintaining a bi-directional traceability link between in the development process phases with careful attention on maintaining traceability over different typical tool boundaries existing in the context of DSM.