reqtool -- Product Overview & Technical Specification

Version 0.4.0 | Enterprise Systems Engineering & Agile Requirements Management Engine

1. Executive Summary

reqtool is a high-performance, git-backed requirements engineering workstation and multi-user server designed for complex engineering programmes (aerospace, automotive, medical devices, defense, robotics, and software).

Combining formal systems engineering rigor (INCOSE quality linter, ISO 26262 / DO-178C compliance workflows, ReqIF 1.2 exchange) with modern agile planning (Kanban boards, epics, stories, tasks, bugs), reqtool stores every requirement, principle, and TBD as an individual, human-readable YAML file inside a Git repository.

2. Exhaustive Feature Matrix & Technical Capabilities

📂 2.1 Git-Backed Data & Storage Engine

• File-per-Item Store: Every requirement (requirements/*.yaml), principle (principles/*.yaml), TBD (tbds/*.yaml), module (modules/), and product (products/) is stored as an individual human-readable YAML 1.2 file.
• SHA-256 Hashing & Semantic Versioning: Automatic content hashing and semantic versioning (1.0.0 → 1.1.0 on content modification; 2.0.0 on major structural changes).
• Incremental File System Watchdog: Background Watchdog file system observer reloads modified files in <10ms without restarting the server.
• Native Git Branching & Diffs: Execute req diff HEAD~5 or GET /diff?since=ref to inspect field-level delta histories across commits, branches, and baseline tags.
• In-Tool Repository Switcher & Initializer: Switch active working repositories or initialize new repositories directly inside the UI without restarting.

🎯 2.2 Formal Systems Engineering & Agile Planning

• Unified Artefact Hierarchy: Supports both formal systems engineering types (stakeholder_need, system_requirement, functional, performance, interface, safety, compliance) and agile items (initiative, epic, feature, user_story, task, bug).
• Safety Criticality Tagging: ASIL (A/B/C/D) and DAL (A/B/C/D/E) safety classification tagging.
• Verification Method Allocation: Allocate verification methods (Test, Demonstration, Analysis, Inspection, Simulation, Similarity).
• Kanban Board Workstation: Visual drag-and-drop workflow status transitions with customizable approval guards.
• Traceability & Dependency Matrix: Bi-directional parent-child hierarchy, verification links, and impact analysis graph (GET /traceability/matrix).

🤖 2.3 INCOSE Linter & AI Intelligence

• INCOSE Prose Quality Linter: Real-time checking against INCOSE rules (flags passive voice, ambiguous terms like "suitable", "flexible", missing imperatives, unquantified NFR values).
• AI Semantic Duplicate & Overlap Detector: GET /analysis/detect-duplicates scans all requirements and calculates word token similarity scores to flag overlapping requirements.
• Spec-to-Test Case Auto Generator: POST /analysis/generate-tests/{uid} automatically generates positive test procedures and acceptance criteria test steps.
• Acceptance Criteria Generator: Gherkin Given-When-Then scenario generator (POST /analysis/generate-ac).

🔒 2.4 Multi-User Server, Authentication & RBAC

• Multi-Client Server Host (reqtool-server.exe): Multi-client repository hosting listening on 0.0.0.0:8765.
• Remote Client Desktop App (reqtool-client.exe): Desktop application workstation equipped with 🔐 Server Login & Connection UI and dynamic server URL switching (http://remote-server:8765).
• User Authentication: Password hashing (PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256) and signed JWT access tokens (/auth/login, /auth/me, /auth/users).
• Default Admin Seeding: Auto-seeds default admin credentials (admin / admin123) in .reqtool/users.yaml.
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Permission enforcement across user roles (admin, editor, reviewer, viewer).

🛡️ 2.5 Cryptographic Signatures & Audit Package Exporter

• Cryptographic Electronic Signatures: HMAC-SHA256 / Ed25519 digital signature generation on requirement approvals (SIG-v1-xxxxxxxx...).
• 21 CFR Part 11 / ISO 26262 Compliance Exporter: GET /export/audit-package packages audit manifests, cryptographic signature ledgers, requirement dumps, and verification logs into a compressed .zip dossier.

🎨 2.6 Visual Architecture & Diagram Canvas

• Dual-Engine Diagram Canvas: Client-side Mermaid.js and Server-side PlantUML (POST /render/plantuml via plantuml.jar).
• Pre-Loaded Templates: System Hierarchy, Sequence Flow, Component Diagram, Traceability Graph.
• One-Click Snippet Copy: Export formatted Markdown code blocks directly into requirement documentation.

⏱ 2.7 Flexible Iteration, Sprint & Gate Management

• Methodology Modes: Flexible support for Scrum (Sprint Backlog & Velocity), Waterfall (Phase & Gate Review), Wagile (Hybrid Sprint + Gate), and Kanban (Continuous Flow).
• Milestone Gate Tracking: Track planned, active, completed, and closed status, story point capacity, start/end dates, and milestone CDR gate readiness.
• Iteration Metrics (GET /iterations/{id}/metrics): Burndown charts and completion percentage.

⇌ 2.8 Ecosystem & Webhook Integrations

• GitHub Webhook Ingestion (POST /webhooks/github): Automatically parses commit messages ("Fixes REQ-SYS-001") and links commits/PRs to requirement verification logs.
• Outbound Webhooks: Configurable HTTP webhooks with HMAC-SHA256 signatures triggered on requirement changes and approvals.
• ReqIF 1.2 XML Exchange: OMG ReqIF 1.2 XML import and export (GET /export/reqif) for IBM DOORS, Jama, and Polarion.
• OpenAPI 3.1 Spec: Auto-generated REST API specification (/openapi.json).

3. Standalone Executable Matrix (5 Binary Targets)

4. Technical Specifications