Artifact Traceability Graph

The Artifact Traceability Graph is a directed lineage graph connecting every artifact produced during the pipeline. It forms a verifiable chain from intent to delivery.

Tracked Artifacts

• Compass Document
• Architecture Specification
• UX Design
• User Stories
• Implementation Plans
• Code
• Tests
• QA Evidence
• Deployment Configurations
• Release Packages

Lineage Chain

Each artifact is connected to its parent artifacts, forming a complete traceability path:

1. User Goal — the original intent
2. Compass Document — translates goal into structured direction
3. Architecture Spec — defines system design
4. User Stories — breaks design into implementable units
5. Implementation Plan — maps tasks and dependencies
6. Code + Tests — produces the deliverable artifacts
7. QA Validation — verifies quality and conformance
8. Release Decision — authorizes deployment

Completeness and Validation

Maudel determines project readiness using the artifact traceability graph. Validation rules include:

• No orphan artifacts — every artifact must have a parent
• All artifacts linked to upstream intent — traceability back to the user goal
• Required downstream evidence present — each stage produces expected outputs
• Tests mapped to acceptance criteria — verification coverage is complete
• Deployment artifacts defined — release package is ready

Traceability Metrics

The graph enables computation of traceability coverage across the project:

• Requirements to stories coverage — are all requirements broken into stories?
• Stories to implementation coverage — is every story implemented?
• Stories to tests coverage — does every story have test evidence?
• Validation to release readiness — is the release package complete?

These metrics allow the orchestrator to make deterministic release decisions based on artifact evidence rather than subjective assessment.