The attributes of a requirement can continuously change throughout a project and need to be maintained at all times. The documentation thereof is referred to as Maintain Attributes.

Let us consider this element in the context of a practical example:

A requirement was logged by the Head of Credit at a financial institution to rework the interest calculation on home loans.

Due to the fact that not all detail around this requirement has been finalized and the stakeholders continuously change the detail of what is required, this has always been identified as a lower-priority requirement. 

During the course of a routine audit, however, it was found that the interest calculation on home loans was in actual fact incorrect and could cause major implications for the financial institution; this needs to be corrected as a matter of urgency.

Thus, the attributes of this requirement have now changed, from low priority to high priority, with a specific time deadline, and need to be updated.