Software component completeness by block-diagonalized traceability matrices

Software component traceability matrices can be put in almost block-diagonal form, by applying a series of component-preserving transformations. The resulting block-diagonalized matrix is a powerful tool for improving the system design, as it reveals its higher-level hierarchy, and points to possible lacks of completeness and symmetry. Case studies of real software systems illustrate the approach, which is not restricted to software systems only.