How much SW defined are you?

The motivation to migrate from a decentralized, ECU based vehicle approach to a SW driven and flexible platform is clear: Make exciting products, evade the complexity trap and grab your part of the digital revenue streams.

And it's also very clear: This is not a 100 meter sprint, it's more like a marathon to get there. So, in today's #SWdriven edition (after a short holiday break, thx for waiting ;-) I want to highlight the three main stages towards a fully SW driven automotive world.

These stages do not only include the technology leaps, described by the vehicle architecture generations (by the way, the meaning of "architecture" also develops from stage to stage). The stages also have a look on the dominant mindsets and characteristics of the organization and processes.

Stage 1: Your car gets internet.

Are there still vehicles sold without a connected infotainment?

In Stage 1 vehicles, the infotainment systems (including especially the navigation system) were the first and only connectivity port from a mechatronic car to the internet bubble. Real time traffic, map update and some first connected applications were drivers for this, and everyone was happy that only the infotainment system was online - the rest of the vehicle being protected behind a massive firewall.

"Architecture" meant E/E (electrics/electronics), that is to say wiring harness, ECU topologies and communication bus systems. It's a mindset of components, which need to communicate between themselves. It's also an organization of component team leaders, who organize how to align the communication. The complexity inside one ECU is still dominant over the complexity of the connections and functions between ECUs. So it's better to focus on the ECU, and interaction between ECUs somehow.

The development process is well-described by the V-model: The OEM defines requirements top-down, several 1st and 2nd tiers implement and deliver components, and the OEM integrates it into the vehicle and ships it after the SOP (start of production). Done.

Stage 2: It's all about Software.

A lot of things change at Stage 2. Cutting the bearskin into small pieces (ECUs) doesn't work so well any more, as the complexity of the vehicle's features is getting higher and more connected than ever. Now, any feature shall be connected and up-to-date, not just the infotainment. Customer-visible features can span over many different ECUs, and it's not just about how to pull the cables, it's also about the content and service level of the communication between all components.

Systems Engineering becomes the dominant methodology, but "the system" is still the vehicle, even if there are many outside systems to be handled. The complexity of the overall task is getting dangerous, and processes, methods and tools need updates. Continuous development and integration is being introduced, and OEMs are massively increasing their SW capacities and are entering the SW value chain directly. A first (weak) decoupling of SW and HW starts. OEMs are forcing their suppliers to deliver also the Source Code.

Time-to-market is decreasing as a consequence, different paces are set up: the vehicle track sometimes even gets longer (updating the vehicle hardware less), but SW updates are now counted in months and not years.

Stage 2 is like a transition phase for most OEMs: Many topics are still intoxicated by legacy from Stage 1 (architecture, processes, tools, mindsets), but the ambition and narratives are already targeting the next phase. Stage 2 is often also characterized by huge uncertainty and inefficiency.

Stage 3: It's all about the Platform.

The vehicle as enabling part of a platform business is the end game (but let's not forget: the vehicle will still be very relevant to drive the customer experience).

In this stage, the maturity of the architecture (which now means "SW architecture" and "business architecture" in the first place) is stable enough. This degree of freedom empowers new business models, inventing new SW defined features (on top of the installed base vehicle hardware), on-boarding of new partners, re-use of SW and so on.

API management and DevOps are the new mantras, and the stability of the architecture pays finally off. OEMs gain full control of their SW platform, but they also understand better on which control points they need to focus - and where to partner, share or follow existing building blocks.

Scalability is the key lever, and development efficiency gets a differentiation between R&D organizations.

Leapfrogging

So, in which stage are OEMs now? For sure, the stages are not fixed. There are fluent transitions on all aspects, and OEMs are finding their own pace how to migrate. Some are still between Stage 1 and 2, others have worked for the past years on establishing Stage 2 architectures and are now progressing to Stage 3.

And there is also no need to do any learning curve by themselves. Stage 2 is a monster for burning cash, organizations and careers. So, a well considered leap frogging, that synchronizes the aspirations with realities (capabilities, budgets, roadmaps) can boost the journey towards a more modern, SW and data driven automotive experience. We have some ideas on that - reach out to learn more.

Juergen Reers Dennis R?hr Dr. Gabriel Seiberth Altan Yamak Marcel F. Wolfgang K?cher Stephen (Yizhou) Xu Amarnath Bharadwaj Raul Kraus Maxim Rasovsky Bettina Blum Christian Levels Christian Kleikamp Marcello Tamietti Anurag Jain Raghavendra Kulkarni Fran?ois BARTHET Hans Loes

Kristin Ofer