Automotive Software Development Audit Checklist

Software defects cost automakers money and damage their brand image, so to combat this they should rethink their operational models and employ top-of-the-line performance management systems.

To do this successfully, they need a smooth software engineering process in place – something ClickUp’s Automotive Software Engineering SOP Template can assist with.

Requirements Gathering
Software projects often encounter roadblocks due to customer requests for changes and unclear specifications. A strong requirements gathering process ensures your team understands what stakeholders require from the project, leading to more accurate estimation and project scope estimates.

Step one of gathering requirements is identifying and prioritizing project stakeholders, which could include customers, end-users, business leaders, department managers and any other key members on your team.

Stakeholder interviews and workshops are effective methods of gathering requirements. They allow stakeholders to exchange ideas, form collaborative practices and review existing documents such as product specs, compliance documents, problem reports and best practice guidelines. SOP templates can help streamline these processes and make them simpler to follow.

Design
Modern motor cars use 100 million lines of software–five times more than an F35 fighter jet–to operate effectively, prompting automotive players to rethink their software organization and operating model.

As in-vehicle software has become the focal point of their products, companies must adopt better processes for managing requirements and optimizing development. Their success relies on carefully selecting developers who work as one unit towards efficiency and quality development.

A QMS compliant with IATF 16949 is one of the primary tools used to audit software quality. This framework outlines required responsibilities, procedures, documentation, and controls that a company must implement; however it should not be the only means by which an automotive company assesses their software development process.

Development
Automotive players looking to become software powerhouses must pay special attention to various issues that impact the development process, including speeding up decision making, cutting interfaces down, and clarifying responsibilities.

Software defects can cost automakers money and damage their brand image. To mitigate errors, developers should conduct both deductive and inductive failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA/FTA) across all system parts.

CQ helps companies comply with ISO 26262, the automotive industry standard for functional safety. Our system streamlines your company’s ISO requirements into an easy workflow with automated processes, documentation and data management for greater productivity and cost reduction as well as to deliver better results by guaranteeing quality across all functions of operation.

Testing
R&D organizations must master the complexity of software systems to successfully develop and maintain cutting-edge automotive technologies, which include autonomy, connectivity, electrification and shared mobility – four major changes over the past several years that depend on advanced software systems.

Continuous integration, automated testing and configuration management tools enable automotive players to enhance software quality and reduce launch risks by quickly resolving bugs more effectively. They can also accelerate development cycles while decreasing overall defect density levels.

Companies seeking to implement best practices should create an organizational archetype that prioritizes accelerating decision making, reducing interfaces, and clarifying responsibilities. To do so successfully requires reconsidering the culture of an organization. A low-code workflow automation tool like ClickUp’s Workflow Library may assist in doing just this by allowing users to quickly customize an SOP template in minutes.

Deployment
Establishing and running an automotive software and technology solutions business successfully requires careful planning, research, obtaining permits and licenses, building a skilled team, creating AI-powered software development platforms, testing and validating the products before finally releasing them to market. All this must be conducted according to stringent legal regulations so as to guarantee its success.

Given that in-vehicle software will drive automotive innovation of tomorrow, R&D leaders must adopt best-in-class performance management practices and establish state-of-the-art software infrastructure. Furthermore, they should learn to efficiently manage software risk.

To achieve this goal, they must shift towards a software-centric model and separate product and life-cycle management from hardware. Furthermore, they should establish software backlogs and roadmaps, implement rigorous coding standards and testing procedures and revise vendor agreements in accordance with software development milestones.