Traceability is a tool used in business analysis to track the life of a requirement from its origin through its development and specification, to its subsequent deployment and use, and through periods of ongoing refinement and iteration in any of these phases. It allows business analysts to determine the impact of changes in requirements by providing a clear path of how each requirement is connected to others, which is essential for assessing the consequences of changes.
References: The BABOK Guide emphasizes the importance of traceability in managing and analyzing the impact of changes in requirements. It is a fundamental aspect of requirements management and communication, one of the six knowledge areas defined in the BABOK Guide. Traceability supports several tasks within this knowledge area, including maintaining requirements for reuse, preparing requirements for change, and evaluating the potential impact of changes1.