Med-Trace: traceability assessment method for medical device software development

Traceability is central to medical device software development and is an essential requirement for regulatory approval. To achieve compliance an effective traceability process needs to be in place. This process must ensure the need for clear linkages and traceability from software requirements - including risks - through the different stages of the software development and maintenance lifecycles. This is difficult to achieve due to the lack of specific guidance which the medical device standards and documentation provide. This has resulted in many medical device companies employing inefficient software traceability processes. In this paper we outline the development and implementation of Med-Trace a lightweight software traceability process assessment and improvement method for the medical device industry. We also present and discuss our findings from two industry based Med-Trace assessments.