Cited requirements for code that keeps changing
Architectra drafts a cited requirements Specification from your repository, and your team decides what is approved. Each pull request is then compared with the approved code and test evidence, and the requirements it touches go to their reviewers.
Approved requirements and the code that implements them drift apart one pull request at a time. A PR can change cited code, or weaken a test, and merge without anyone who owns the requirement looking at it. Architectra ties each approved requirement to the code and tests it cites, so those changes surface on the pull request.
Approved · REQ-014
Lock an account after 5 failed sign-ins.
PR #482 · auth/lockout.ts
- if (failures >= 5) lock(account)
+ if (failures >= 10) lock(account)
The PR's assessment lists REQ-014, and its reviewer records No impact, Change needed or Cannot determine.
Cited test · lockout.test.ts
it("locks after 5 failed sign-ins")
PR #491 · lockout.test.ts
it.skip("locks after 5 failed sign-ins")
Cited test definitions are evidence too, so this change reaches the requirement's reviewer as well.
Evidence pinned at a1f9c3e
auth/lockout.ts · lines 42–57
main, 30 merges later
Function split; lines 42–57 hold other code
Reconciliation re-anchors evidence after every push. What it cannot confirm is marked unresolved, never guessed.
Examples are illustrative. Architectra's checks are advisory and never block a merge; they show the requirement's reviewer what changed.
How it works
Six steps, in the order they happen. AI drafts, people decide, and later changes are compared with what was approved.
Input
Architectra pins the default branch at an exact commit and captures the files it will cite.
AI draft
AI drafts requirements that cite code, tests and docs at that commit. Drafts are proposals; nothing is approved automatically.
People decide
The system's owner or a designated reviewer approves each requirement. Review is independent by default, and exceptions are recorded.
Then, as pull requests open and merge
Advisory check
Each PR a person opens is compared with the approved evidence. A GitHub check reports it without blocking the merge, and reviewers record an outcome per affected requirement.
Automatic
Every push to the default branch re-anchors approved evidence. Moved code is followed; code that changed is marked unresolved for a person.
Output
Download reviewed requirements and their cited evidence, with its current status, for your own tools and records.
Architectra is for teams that ship software but have no requirements baseline anyone keeps current. The workflow stays the same across teams: cited drafts, independent review, and advisory checks on each pull request.
Context: Often working within IEC 62304 processes
Turn the code you already ship into reviewed, cited requirements, then see which ones each pull request touches. Architectra supplies the evidence; your quality process decides what it means.
Context: Often working within IEC 61508 or ISO 26262 processes
Control code in C and C++ changes constantly. Evidence follows cited functions through formatting changes and moves, and becomes unresolved when the code itself changes.
Context: Shared services that other teams depend on
Write down the behavior other teams rely on and keep it reviewed. When a pull request touches cited code, the owning system's reviewer sees which approved requirements cite it.
Standards are named only as the context these teams work in. Architectra does not certify software or establish compliance with any standard; your own process decides how its evidence is used.