Specification Overview

This document provides an aggregate overview of requirements, test cases, and traceability across the Cleanroom Labs technical documentation using sphinx-needs.

Artifact Types

Each project’s documentation is organized around six artifact types that serve distinct roles in the development process. The structure draws on IEEE 830 (SRS) for requirements, IEEE 1016 (SDD) for design specifications, and IEEE 829 for test documentation, adapted to the scale of these projects. For details on how these standards inform the documentation structure, see Documentation Standards Framework.

Use Case (:usecase:)

Describes a goal a user wants to accomplish and the scenario in which they accomplish it. Use cases capture who needs what and why, without prescribing implementation details. They are the starting point for identifying what the software must do.

Requirement (:req:, :nfreq:)

A precise, testable statement of what the system shall do (functional) or how well it shall perform (non-functional). Requirements translate the intent of use cases into concrete obligations. The boundary between a use case and a requirement can be fuzzy — the key distinction is that a requirement is specific enough to verify, while a use case describes a broader user goal.

Design Specification (:spec:)

Documents how the system fulfills its requirements — architecture, data structures, algorithms, and component interfaces. Where a requirement says “the system shall verify file integrity,” a design spec says “use SHA-256 checksums stored in a manifest file.” The line between a detailed requirement and a high-level design spec can blur; in practice, the requirement focuses on observable behavior while the spec focuses on internal structure.

Implementation (:impl:)

A reference to the actual code or artifact that realizes a design specification. Implementation records connect the documentation to the codebase, enabling traceability from user need to source code.

Test Case (:test:)

A procedure that verifies a requirement is satisfied. Each test case links back to the requirement(s) it validates, closing the traceability loop.

Traceability Chain

The idealized development flow follows a waterfall-style sequence:

Use Case → Requirement → Design Spec → Implementation → Test Case
   ↓           ↓             ↓              ↓              ↓
UC-XXX   →   FR-XXX    →   DS-XXX    →   IMPL-XXX     →  TC-XXX

In practice, this sequence is not strictly followed. Requirements and design specs often evolve together, test cases may be written before implementation (TDD), and use cases may be refined after early prototyping reveals new constraints. The chain represents the logical dependency between artifacts — each artifact type answers questions raised by the one before it — rather than a rigid process order.

Note

Currently, the projects track use cases, requirements, loose descriptions of design specifications, and preliminary test plans with some identified cases. Implementation traceability will be added as the software is developed. The design specifications may be formalized as the projects mature.

Requirements by Category

The following tables show the distribution of approved requirements across functional and non-functional categories for each project. For aggregate totals, see Project Statistics. For detailed traceability matrices linking individual requirements to test cases, see each project’s test plan.

Cleanroom Whisper

Functional Requirements — 36 total

Category	Count
Recording	7
Transcription	5
History & Database	6
Output	2
Settings	6
System Tray	4
Security	3
Deployment	3

Non-Functional Requirements — 25 total

Category	Count
Performance	3
Reliability	4
Usability	4
Maintainability	4
Portability	2
Scalability	3
Security & Privacy	2

Full traceability → Whisper Test Plan

AirGap Transfer

Functional Requirements — 47 total

Category	Count
Pack Operation	10
Unpack Operation	9
List Operation	5
Integrity & Verification	7
Cryptographic Agility	3
State Management	4
Command Interface	7
Error Handling & Safety	8
Deployment	3

Non-Functional Requirements — 22 total

Category	Count
Performance	4
Reliability	4
Usability	4
Maintainability	4
Portability	1
Scalability	3
Security & Privacy	2

Full traceability → Transfer Test Plan

AirGap Deploy

Functional Requirements — 77 total

Category	Count
Manifest Parsing & Validation	6
Rust App Component	6
External Binary Component	3
Model File Component	5
System Package Component	4
Packaging	7
Installation Scripts	19
CLI	10
Error Handling & Recovery	5
External Interfaces	13

Non-Functional Requirements — 29 total

Category	Count
Performance	5
Reliability	4
Usability	4
Maintainability	4
Portability	5
Scalability	3
Security	6

Full traceability → Deploy Test Plan

Note

Category counts may overlap where requirements carry multiple tags (e.g., a CLI requirement tagged both cli and verification). See each project’s SRS for the authoritative requirement listing.