Software process improvement in an automotive electronics organization

The software content of automotive electronic modules has been increasing rapidly in recent years. Projections indicate that automotive electronics will fellow the trend seen in other areas of the electronics industry (e.g., avionics, telecommunications, and consumer electronics) where the software engineering capability of the organization will be a key factor in successful product development. As automotive electronics organizations recognize that a world-class product development capability is dependent on a world-class software engineering capability, software process improvement initiatives have become a key component in their long-term strategic plans, This paper describes software process improvement efforts that have taken place within Visteon Automotive Systems over six years in response to this growth in software content in automotive electronics.