The JPL functional requirements tool

Abstract

Planetary spacecraft are complex vehicles which are built according to many thousands of requirements. Problems encountered in documenting and maintaining these requirements led to the current attempt to reduce or eliminate these problems by a computer automated data base Functional Requirements Tool. The tool developed at JPL and in use on several JPL Projects is described. The organization and functionality of the Tool, together with an explanation of the data base inputs, their relationships, and use are presented. Methods of interfacing with external documents, representation of tables and figures, and methods of approval and change processing are discussed. The options available for disseminating information from the Tool are identified. The implementation of the Requirements Tool is outlined, and the operation is summarized. The conclusions drawn from this work is that the Requirements Tool represents a useful addition to the System Engineer's Tool kit, it is not currently available elsewhere, and a clear development path exists to expand the capabilities of the Tool to serve larger and more complex projects.