Lifecycle

RTMX tracks requirements through their complete lifecycle from creation to completion.

Status States

Status	Description
`NOT_STARTED`	Requirement defined but not yet worked on
`MISSING`	Implementation not present
`WIP`	Actively being worked on
`PARTIAL`	Partially implemented
`COMPLETE`	Fully implemented and tested
`BLOCKED`	Cannot progress due to dependencies

Status Transitions

Valid Transitions

From	To	Trigger
`NOT_STARTED`	`MISSING`	Work begins
`MISSING`	`WIP`	Implementation starts
`WIP`	`PARTIAL`	Some acceptance criteria met
`WIP`	`COMPLETE`	All criteria met, tests pass
`PARTIAL`	`COMPLETE`	Remaining criteria met
`ANY`	`BLOCKED`	Dependency not met
`BLOCKED`	`WIP`	Blocker resolved

Status Update

# Via CLI
rtmx update REQ-AUTH-001 --status COMPLETE

# Via Python API
db.update("REQ-AUTH-001", status=Status.COMPLETE)

# Via MCP
rtmx_update_status(req_id="REQ-AUTH-001", status="COMPLETE")

Dependency Management

Blocking Relationships

Requirements can depend on other requirements:

REQ-AUTH-002,...,dependencies=REQ-AUTH-001|REQ-DB-001

Automatic Blocking

When a dependency is incomplete, downstream requirements show as blocked:

Unblocking

When a blocker completes, downstream requirements are automatically unblocked:

rtmx update REQ-AUTH-001 --status COMPLETE
# REQ-AUTH-002 and REQ-AUTH-003 are now unblocked

Phase Management

Requirements can be grouped into phases:

REQ-AUTH-001,...,phase=1
REQ-DATA-001,...,phase=2

Phase Progress

rtmx status --phase 1
# Phase 1: 85% complete (17/20 requirements)

Phase Dependencies

Requirements should depend on earlier phases completing:

REQ-PHASE2-001,...,phase=2,dependencies=REQ-PHASE1-010

Verification Methods

Method	Description
`Unit Test`	Automated unit test
`Integration Test`	Automated integration test
`System Test`	End-to-end system test
`Inspection`	Manual code review
`Demonstration`	Live demo/walkthrough
`Analysis`	Design analysis/review

Audit Trail

All status changes are tracked via git:

git log --oneline -- docs/rtm_database.csv
# a1b2c3d Update REQ-AUTH-001 to COMPLETE
# d4e5f6g Add REQ-DATA-003

Generating History

rtmx history REQ-AUTH-001
# 2024-01-15 09:30: NOT_STARTED → MISSING (initial)
# 2024-01-16 14:22: MISSING → WIP (alice)
# 2024-01-18 11:45: WIP → COMPLETE (alice)

Best Practices

Keep Status Current

Update status immediately when work state changes:

# Starting work
rtmx update REQ-AUTH-001 --status WIP

# Hit a blocker
rtmx update REQ-AUTH-001 --status BLOCKED --notes "Waiting on API spec"

# Completed
rtmx update REQ-AUTH-001 --status COMPLETE

Link Tests Early

Add test markers before implementation:

@pytest.mark.req("REQ-AUTH-001")
def test_oauth_login():
    pytest.skip("Not implemented yet")

Document Blockers

When blocked, document the reason:

rtmx update REQ-AUTH-002 --status BLOCKED \
  --notes "Blocked by external API dependency, ETA 2024-02-01"