Opening
Traditional traceability systems assume products remain relatively stable after release.
OTA-enabled systems invalidate this assumption.
Core Thesis
Static traceability cannot survive continuously deployed autonomy.
Example Walkthrough
A perception model update changes:
- object classification timing
- braking behavior
- operational assumptions
- scenario coverage
- test validity
Without propagation awareness:
- stale assumptions remain hidden
- verification gaps accumulate
- safety arguments drift silently
Why Manual Propagation Fails
Engineering organizations cannot reliably synchronize:
- requirements
- tests
- hazards
- deployment state
- telemetry
- architecture
through spreadsheets and human memory.
What Is Needed
- graph-aware traceability
- automatic dependency tracking
- evidence freshness monitoring
- continuously synchronized assurance
Closing
OTA updates transformed software deployment. They must also transform assurance infrastructure.