Method, apparatus, and computer program product for model based traceability

A model based traceability framework is provided in an integrated development environment. The model based framework is embeddable, or deployable, in any application or plugin within the integrated development environment. A database provides scalable persistence of the model and traceability links created using the model. The framework comprises an underlying model that is created by an administrator through a table schema. Tools using the framework allow the creation and management of traceability links, which may be created during code generation or manually through a user interface. An administrator manages the model by creating and maintaining artifact information, traceability link types, and traceability link information in tables. A traceability tool, which may a standalone application or a plugin to an existing tool, allows users to create, update, and delete traceability links. The traceability tool may also allow users to query traceability links.