Automotive Software Development Process Guide

The demand for software expertise is growing, but there is a general shortage of capabilities and people with the right skill sets, both in-house and externally, which reveals strong potential points of entry for pure-play software companies. The focus is on improving software R&D productivity by using a combination of key efficiency levers for software development, including agile R&D, contin­uous integration, and automated testing (see sections C and D2). If a company decides to buy software, it must define a detailed sourcing model during an extended assessment that involves selecting and contracting development partners. When considering a partial-buy strategy for a complex software system, companies should contract two to three suppliers at most. Our research shows that anything beyond that point can erode productivity by more than 65 percent.

The ECU/DCU market is projected to grow to $144 billion by 2030 and is mostly driven by growth in DCUs. However, ECU/DCU market growth will be cut back by decreasing unit costs in some domain types and the consolidation of ECUs into DCUs. As a result, software development in the auto industry has a strong culture of risk analysis.

Automotive Software Engineering Services: IT Trends and Best Practices

The goal of platform engineering is to optimize productivity, the user experience and accelerate delivery of business value. Finally, https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ teams must also contend with the fact that vehicles are often used in ways that were not anticipated by the developers. In some cases, it may even be necessary to recall a vehicle in order to fix a problem with its software. The ideal approach eliminates bottlenecks in the development and testing processes through a cloud-based, centralized platform that enables developers to execute any tests on related test benches located in any test center in the world. The tests can
put software-in-the-loop (SIL), hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) or even the vehicle-in-the-loop (VIL) for ever more realistic testing. This approach allows for the scale required to tackle today’s toughest challenges, using global resources.

Among the possible standardization options are using basic displays, such as switching from a 9-inch to a 7-inch screen or a standard instrument panel instead of a best-in-class option. On the manufacturing side of the ledger, nearshoring or offshoring can reduce labor and energy costs compared with central European rates. Production costs could drop by as much as 45% in a nearshoring facility and 70% in an offshoring arrangement.

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SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 17, (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — , the largest software framework company for autonomous systems, today announced its third annual to be held on November 9. In recent years, automotive software has continued to evolve rapidly, focusing on connectivity, autonomy, and electrification. Introducing electric vehicles and autonomous driving technology has led to the development of new software systems and components, such as battery management systems and sensor fusion algorithms.

• The second element of the solution is test-driven development and automation, a process
  in which tests are defined before coding starts and then automatically run after code integra­tion.
• This strategy focuses on leveraging impactful design shifts along with some basic step changes to optimize cost without compromising the current performance level.
• As a result, software testing in the auto industry can look a whole lot different than software testing elsewhere.
• In a strong make-or-buy strategy, OEMs will keep production of differentiating features in-house while outsourcing development of noncritical software to other providers or contractors.
• Navy ships, drives a new generation of medical robotics, enables flying cars, and provides 24/7 intelligence for hospital and emergency medicine.
• Smartphones have undergone a similar shift, with leading players finding ways to improve functionality by more closely integrating code across existing hardware components.
• OEM collaborations will not automatically produce excellent software, even if the companies involved have complementary skills.

The calculation of the size of the automotive-software market is based on the workforce, across the supply chain, involved in software topics and the number of vehicle platforms and variants across OEMs and suppliers and their change over time. Autonomous driving, connected vehicles, the electrification of the powertrain, and shared mobility (also called the ACES trends) are mutually reinforcing developments in the automotive sector. Combined, they are disrupting the automotive value chain and affecting all its stakeholders. At this rate, the software and E/E market is expected to outpace growth vastly in the overall automotive market, which is estimated to grow at a compound rate of 3 percent in the same time frame. Software and electronics have therefore become the focus of most automotive companies and their executives.

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Over the recent years, thanks to software engineers, the automotive industry has undergone rapid transformation. Electric cars, shared mobility, autonomous driving, connectivity, in-vehicle payments, and more features are widely accessible due to automotive software development services. The overall goal of car software development is an enhancement of car safety, making transport more predictive and intuitive, as well as improving the driving experience.

For example, research shows that software productivity erodes by an average of about 10 percent each time a new site is added to a development project. In addition to decoupling, companies should also strive to create a set of standardized operating systems that support harmonization across components and ensure interoperability. Many players have already announced the development of such operating systems, but at this point, no one-size-fits-all approach exists.

Our Expertise in Automotive Software Development

However, this strategy can be implemented relatively quickly and could appeal to consumers who are looking for an inexpensive vehicle to use on short, daily urban rides of, for instance, less than 200km. Additionally, Tesla has opted to eliminate physical knobs and switches in favor of voice and touch controls, further reducing costs. The EV maker also reduced software and hardware costs by limiting electronic control unit variety and wiring harness complexity. And in a nod towards less standardization, Tesla offers limited options and ordering a vehicle is down to a streamlined 5-click process on the website. The total number of possible Model 3 combinations is only 180, a stark contrast to a Volkswagen Passat’s staggering one billion combinations. Beyond looking for cost savings in batteries, other impactful design-to-cost techniques that have generally not been optimized for EVs should be explored.

Security researchers demonstrated that they could connect to a vehicle’s drive-control systems via the infotainment interface, gaining access to powertrain, infotainment, and climate functions. Most recently, other researchers demonstrated the ability to disable antitheft systems, doors, lights, and brakes through a Wi-Fi connection. OEMs rapidly addressed these vulnerabilities, but such incidents exposed the risks inherent in connecting software modules developed for formerly independent domains. To optimize efficiency from a software-driven operating model, companies should adopt a best-in-class performance-management approach and set up state-of-the-art software infrastructure by building a software-development toolchain.

An Inside Look at the Automotive Software Development

Under the new operating model, companies must translate their software-related aspirations and business opportunities into actionable architecture, product, and portfolio requirements at the product, function, and module levels. Through this process, companies gain a detailed understanding of the kinds of software that can create value for them. It also allows them to reduce architecture complexity, apply user-centered design techniques, and improve management of software requirements. We believe these steps are insufficient, however, since real change will only come when automakers update their underlying operating models for software development. Based on our research, only 40 percent of the R&D leaders who view software as a major disruptor feel prepared to make the necessary operational shifts.2McKinsey R&D of the Future Survey.

This archetype gives organi­zations maximum flexibility, since they do not need to reorganize to accommodate further products/projects and technologies. Development efficiency under this archetype might be sub­optimal, however, which will increase the need for cross-departmental functions, such as project manage­ment, architecture, and staffing. The first level should primarily include requirements that are customer facing (typically described as use cases). Technical or implementation requirements, such as the memory needed for a certain feature, should be in a separate level (typically described as enablers).