The Labyrinth Is Real
In the Ariadne myth, the labyrinth was built to contain complexity — and it worked so well that none who entered it could ever find their way out.
Modern systems are no different. They are evolving networks of requirements, code, tests, tools, and processes. Understanding how these elements relate — and proving that they remain aligned — has long been a core engineering concern, yet one that remains difficult to address in practice.
In domains such as automotive, medical devices, and aerospace, this is not optional. Every line of code must be traceable to a requirement, and that trace must remain valid across tools, teams, and revisions. As AI-assisted development accelerates the pace of code generation, this pressure even increases: generated code must be explainable, reviewable, and traceable just like handwritten code. Maintaining this traceability is a persistent engineering burden — one that demands reliable threads through growing complexity.
The Problem
That burden becomes visible during audits, reviews, and day-to-day engineering work. Teams in regulated industries spend weeks preparing evidence to prove which requirements their code actually covers.
The Solution — ReqToCode
These issues share a common root cause: traceability lives outside the system it is meant to describe. Ariadne introduces ReqToCode — an approach that embeds traceable system elements directly into the codebase, making traceability a structural property of the system rather than an external documentation task.
Developers establish traces naturally during implementation, while architects gain system-wide visibility through Ariadne-Lens. This creates a continuously evolving trace structure that reflects the actual system.
When developers apply this approach consistently, the system enforces traceability.
As a consequence, deleted or renamed requirements surface as build errors immediately.
Divergence between intent and implementation becomes visible early. Traceability is no longer reconstructed for audits — it is maintained continuously by the system itself.
Core Components
Ariadne is composed of two tightly integrated components that operationalize the ReqToCode approach.
Ariadne-Thread
Establishes traceability directly from implementation artifacts. Thread anchors requirements, architecture, code, and tests into a navigable structure without introducing additional workflow steps.
Ariadne-Lens
Provides architectural visibility into the trace network. Lens enables teams to explore relationships across systems, requirements, and implementation — turning structural traces into system understanding.
Built to Fit In
Ariadne complements your existing tool investments. It connects to your requirements system and your Git platform — no migrations, no workflow changes, no vendor lock-in.
Requirements Sources
Target Languages
Platforms
Ariadne is designed with tool qualification in mind, supporting the documentation and traceability requirements common in regulated industries. Its architecture ensures that new requirement sources, target languages, and platforms can be integrated without affecting the core system.
Deployment
Ariadne runs where your data lives — on your infrastructure, under your control. Requirements, traces, and source code are sensitive assets. They stay within your network.
Pilot Program Open
Ariadne's core platform is operational and running in real development environments. We're looking for a small number of teams to explore implementation-driven traceability in real projects.
Ariadne never entered the labyrinth. She gave Theseus what he needed to find his own way through.