Towards an adaptive reference model for agile and hybrid frameworks in automotive development

Abstract

While the German car industry was very successful over the past few decades, new challenges have surfaced in recent years. Societal changes, technological innovation and sustainability requirements call for improvements in flexibility and speed during the automotive development process. Traditionally, plan-based frameworks like the waterfall or Vee-model are used by the automotive industry. However, these frameworks do not work well for all suppliers that partake in the automotive product development process. An agile or hybrid framework may offer a better alternative for specific suppliers. To create an innovative, digital and adaptive product development process, this research aims at the integration of the whole value chain. This includes the requirements of the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and their suppliers. To allow for simple usage and adaptation, the knowledge is processed into a digital reference model. This generic reference model is then used to derive specific development processes that consider the context of each partner. By integrating communication mechanisms, it ensures that all partners can use their preferred framework for their development process while still ensuring a consistent product. In order to be able to select the most appropriate framework according to the context of a specific partner, the reference model takes into consideration all contextual factors of the development process.