Compare · Doorstop
Proof vs Doorstop: traceability and change review
Doorstop and Proof both put requirements in the repository. Compare how each helps your team review changed obligations, maintain links and establish what the available evidence actually supports.
Suspect-link detection is already part of Doorstop
Doorstop keeps linkable items, including requirements and test cases, in YAML files under version control. It validates the document hierarchy and traceability, and publishes documents in several formats.
Its validation checks include unreviewed changes, unknown IDs, missing external references and suspect links. A link records the parent's fingerprint; a changed fingerprint makes the link suspect.
Proof also keeps structured requirements in the repository. Its requirement lifecycle, traceability, evidence and known-issue records support configured change checks. The evaluation question is whether that broader workflow reduces the effort needed to establish what a change affects and whether its evidence is adequate.
Compare the work you need to do
Ask each workflow to preserve the same requirement and explain the same change.
| Evaluation question | Doorstop | Proof |
|---|---|---|
| What is the basic record? | A YAML item in a document hierarchy, with links to related items. | A structured requirement with lifecycle, trace and evidence relationships. |
| What makes a link suspect? | The recorded parent fingerprint differs from the current one. | Applicable trace and approval checks depend on recorded relationships, fingerprints and configured policy. |
| What follows a suspect result? | Review the impact and explicitly clear the affected link when appropriate. | Inspect the flagged dependency or evidence gap, update the relevant record, and rerun the applicable check. |
| What establishes behavior? | A reviewed verification method and execution evidence associated with the requirement, beyond link validation. | An adequate assertion and observed evidence for the requirement, beyond record presence or a passing structural check. |
Review a changed retention period
Illustrative evaluation: an authorized policy change reduces diagnostic-record retention from thirty days to seven. The requirement changes while the cleanup job and an older passing test report remain untouched.
Use Doorstop's validation to inspect the affected item links. Clearing a suspect link acknowledges the current parent fingerprint. Define the review and evidence required before clearing it. The cleanup boundary and all retained copies may require separate investigation.
For a Proof trial, connect the retention obligation to the job and tests. Evaluate a record just before the deadline, one at the defined deadline and one beyond it. Keep the time basis, candidate revision and actual deletion observations with the result. An old report for thirty days cannot by itself support seven-day behavior.
Finally change the implementation without editing the requirement. Ask whether the workflow brings the unchanged obligation back into review. Measure the work needed to maintain the links and refresh evidence; do not assume every source change is recognized automatically.
Choose according to the process you will maintain
Choose Doorstop when file-based requirements, hierarchy validation and reviewable trace links meet your needs, and your team can maintain the surrounding verification workflow.
Evaluate Proof when you need a connected record of requirements, evidence and known issues that supports ongoing software changes. Require a concrete demonstration of the selected checks and their failure behavior. A broader feature set is useful only if your team can keep its inputs accurate.
Existing Doorstop users can pilot a small mapping before considering migration. Preserve stable IDs, link meanings and review history. This page does not promise a dedicated Doorstop connector or automatic preservation of every custom YAML field.
Sources and comparison scope
Official sources checked October 3, 2026: Doorstop overview and Doorstop 3.2 validation and suspect links. The cited validation version defines the behavior summarized here; verify your installed version and settings. This is an evaluation guide, not a measured product benchmark.
Try the workflow on one component
Bring a Doorstop requirement, its linked items and a recent code change. We can assess the equivalent requirement and evidence workflow in Proof, including the mapping work and remaining manual review.