Octo for requirements and MBSE
In model-based systems engineering (MBSE), Octo can read what DOORS, Jama, Polarion, Cameo, Capella and Simulink already export and check the traceability that ARP4754B (SAE guidelines for the development of civil aircraft and systems) calls for: requirements with no child, no model or no test. Read-only, by script, without opening the interface. You approve the plan; it prepares the list of gaps and the matrix for human review.
Six possible deliverables, drawn from the technical research. All start from read access: an export or a read-only account. Nothing is written to the requirements database.
DOORS, DOORS Next, Jama (through Interchange), Polarion and Requirements Toolbox export ReqIF (Requirements Interchange Format, a standard from the OMG, the Object Management Group). A Python script, using only the standard library, reads the .reqif or .reqifz and lists every object that doesn't appear in any relation, with no license for any of these tools.
An OSLC RM query (Open Services for Lifecycle Collaboration, requirements profile), with a read-only account, goes from server discovery to the project query and lists requirements with no validation link to a test. It sends the OSLC-Core-Version: 2.0 header and, when configurations are enabled, the configuration context (baseline or stream).
A MATLAB function runs in matlab -batch, without the desktop, and lists Requirements Toolbox requirements with no link to a block or test. If there's an orphan, the process exits with an error and the continuous integration (CI) pipeline stops. It also looks for items imported as references.
Cross-references aircraft, system and item requirements with the “satisfies”, “implements” and “verified by” links coming from several exports, and points out the gaps: requirements with no child, no model, no test; tests with no requirement. It can also flag ambiguous wording, as a suggestion to the engineer.
Deliverable: CSV/HTML matrix for reviewCompares two ReqIF exports or two DOORS Next baselines and lists what was added, removed and changed. It can find broken links between tools: a requirement imported into Simulink whose text changed at the source after the import.
Deliverable: difference reportReads the Capella model with capellambse, on a Linux server, without Capella open, or the Cameo model through OSLC and the Teamwork Cloud REST API, read-only. It can generate the architecture text from the model and redo it when the model changes, for human review.
The same Octo cycle, applied to requirements and system models. Each arm has a narrow role; the decisions are made by your company's engineering team.
Which requirements database (DOORS 9, DOORS Next, Jama in the cloud or on-premises, Polarion), which modeler (Cameo, Capella, Enterprise Architect), which MATLAB version, and which exports already exist. Asks whether DOORS Next uses configurations.
The levels (aircraft, system, item, verification) and the link types that apply on your project, because in DOORS Next they're configurable. In ReqIF, which relation type separates “satisfies” from “verifies”.
Asks for a read-only account in OSLC or REST. Doesn't write to the database without an approved change process. Keeps in mind that Jama cloud's REST has to be enabled by support. Sending controlled data (ITAR/EAR, U.S. export control regulations) to any external service, including AI, must first be assessed by the client's compliance team.
ReqIF first, because it requires no license. OSLC or REST when the live server is needed. doors -b for DOORS 9, capellambse on Linux, matlab -batch in the pipeline. The interface only when there's no other way.
Standard library when possible. In OSLC, sends the configuration context. In MATLAB, loads the link sets for models and tests before counting, otherwise everything looks orphaned.
Runs on a small module and compares with what the tool shows. Knows where the script can mislead: a link to another module that didn't come in the same file shows up as “no trace”.
The matrix and the orphan list go to the responsible engineer, who decides. In the CI pipeline, matlab -batch fails the run when an unlinked requirement appears.
Versions, project link types, configuration context and what was confirmed in your environment. The next check starts ready.
Octo points out the gap. Decisions, release and certification belong to qualified people and authorities.
The criteria Octo uses to choose. Open files and read APIs first; the interface only when there's no other way.
| Task | Recommended path | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| List untraced requirements, with no license for any tool | Export ReqIF and read it with Python | Exported CSV |
| The same check directly on the DOORS Next server | OSLC RM query | REST or IBM ELM (Engineering Lifecycle Management) report |
| Checking in DOORS 9 | DXL (DOORS scripting language) in doors -b writing CSV | Export ReqIF and use the Python script |
| Jama requirements in an external report | REST (the instance's /api-docs/) | ReqIF through Interchange |
| Polarion requirements and links | REST API | ReqIF |
| Bring requirements from DOORS or Jama into Simulink | slreq.import with ReqIF or a DOORS module | Export to Excel |
| Simulink requirements with no link to a block or test, in CI | matlab -batch + slreq.* | Requirements Toolbox traceability report |
| Read a Capella model on a Linux server | capellambse | Python4Capella inside Capella |
| Read a Cameo model without opening Cameo | Teamwork Cloud OSLC/REST (read-only) | Export XMI (the OMG model exchange format); SysML v2 API, in preview |
| Read an Enterprise Architect model | Automation Interface (COM) on Windows | Export XMI |
| Exchange requirements between supplier and integrator | ReqIF (OMG 1.2) | Excel (loses structure) |
Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results on your program.
A proposal, not a promise
Starting from the exports the team already produces, with no new license and without touching the database.
The check stops being a one-off request and can run on a schedule, with every change.
matlab -batch in CI, failing on an orphan requirementThe SysML v2 API (Systems Modeling Language, version 2), approved by the OMG, standardizes REST access to the model. When it leaves preview in Cameo (2026x Refresh1, June 26, 2026), the same check will be able to read the model without a proprietary API.
Every point below has a source published by the vendor, the project or the responsible agency. The sources are in the next section.
5
points with a published source, each with its reference alongside.
matlab -batch works for continuous integrationcapellambse reads the Capella model without Capella, and MATLAB runs on Linux. DOORS 9 has a Windows client, and Enterprise Architect runs only on Windows.Source: PyPI capellambse; MathWorks; IBM; SparxOcto prepares everything, but does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.
Surveys, calculates, organizes and generates the documents: spreadsheets, reports, drawings and drafts.
Deliverable: material ready to checkThe licensed professional checks what Octo delivered before signing. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.
Step: review by the signerOcto does not sign. Designs, technical reports, ART/RRT (Brazil's professional responsibility records), accountability reports and any official document are still signed by the company's or agency's licensed professional: here, the responsible engineer and the certification authority.
Sign-off: responsible engineer and certification authorityStandard, specifications and the vendors' own documentation used in the research.
-b, -u, -pThe assessment starts by reading an export of your requirements, without changing anything. You get a map of the gaps and of what can be automated, and decide with it in hand.