When implemented correctly, application lifecycle management (ALM) helps automotive OEM’s and Suppliers ensure product safety, organizational compliance, and industry competitiveness. ALM allows organizations to prove engineering teams are adhering to these automotive safety standards, while reducing meetings, rework of engineering processes, and streamlining standardization.
There are a multitude of ALM tools in the marketplace. An organization needs to make an important purchase decision on tools when the options are endless. In addition to this, the emerging standards for autonomous and electric vehicles - such as ISO 26262, ISO 21448 SOTIF, ASPICE, AS 9100, DO-178, DO-254, IEC 61508, CENELEC, and other FAA, FRA or regulatory standards - overlap and sometimes conflict, causing an array of problems in your engineering workflow. Is there even one tool that can meet all of the organization’s needs?
When considering an ALM toolchain and workflow, typical global OEM’s considerations are as follows:
ALM encompasses the methods and processes through which software is developed, managed, and controlled. Ensuring they address the latest standards, and integrating the toolchains to achieve that result, will empower speed and scale in an engineering development environment.
Input: Organizational charts, new processes, product development lifecycle processes, reporting requirements, and existing tools.
Output: Assessment of current organizational efficiency against industry standards and competition. Recommended action plan for new lifecycle management.
Input: Current tools and development processes
Output: Tool trade study and recommendation considering the latest industry standards
Input: Current tools, development processes, and application standards
Output: Full tool integration and automation
Input: Systems and tool integration roadmap
Output: Leadership of the development of an optimized workflow and tool implementation
Input: Current product development processes, product roadmaps, and application standards
Output: Full lifecycle process definition that integrates standards
By combining the engineering best practices with the tools’ strengths and considering an organization’s main drivers, a workflow can be defined; one that optimizes tool usage and reduces the load on engineers. Ultimately, to be successful within safety-critical development, an organization needs to develop against a standard while also reducing the labor associated with engineering and testing.
Without the latter, the cost and time for development escalate exponentially.
LHP will provide an assessment against industry standards such as ISO 26262 and others, recommendations on how to close the gaps and optimize the workflow, and provide a full definition of the process.