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Problem 03 Acquisition Requirements Medium Concept preview

Design a requirements traceability service that survives a re-baseline

Carry 4,000 requirements through a mid-program re-baseline without losing the thread to test and hardware.

  • Re-baseline
  • CUI marking
  • Disconnected ops

IllustrativeA composite built from public information. It does not describe a specific OCEANS engagement, customer system or solicitation, and every figure on this page is an assumption for the exercise.

Practice mode

45:00

Starts a 45-minute clock on the prompt. Built for rehearsing an orals technical challenge.

01 · The prompt

“A program carries 4,000 requirements across three baselines, linked to systems, test cases and fielded hardware. Mid-program the sponsor re-baselines and 600 requirements change. Design a traceability service that shows exactly what the change touches, keeps the history auditable, and still exports to the tools the program office already uses.”

02 · Ask these first

Each of these changes the design. Ask them before drawing a single box.

  1. Q1 Is the system of record the traceability tool, or the signed baseline documents?
  2. Q2 Who approves a change, and does that approval have to live inside the system?
  3. Q3 Which exports are non-negotiable: DOORS, Excel, ReqIF?
  4. Q4 Does "traced" mean linked, or linked and verified by a test?
  5. Q5 Does it have to run on a disconnected network?

Practice prompt

Your turn. Requirements, sizing, architecture, trade-offs.

Work it on a whiteboard. Our write-up for this one is still being drafted, so compare your structure against problem 01.

Write-up in progress

The prompt and the opening questions are live. Our full write-up is still being drafted.

You can practice it now. For the finished format, read problem 01.