Audit Passed: Process Optimization Per Automotive SPICE® with SAFe® & Atlassian Tools

A major automotive supplier for drive technologies faced the challenge of having the processes of a large development project certified by an external auditor according to the Automotive SPICE standard. In addition to using suitable Atlassian tools, the focus was also on process adjustments within the agile framework SAFe® and thus the mapping of dependencies within individual teams and their tasks. As a solution provider for digital project management and as part of the audit preparation, catworkx supported the company in optimizing project management and the associated processes.

The first challenge for the company was initially to combine the V-model, common in this area, with agile methods for the teams involved in the development process. Although individual teams were already working agilely, supported by Atlassian Jira Software, they did so in a team-specific way that made a uniform overall view of the current status difficult. For example, a comprehensible and transparent representation of the critical path could not be achieved across teams. This required the mapping of dependencies within individual teams and their tasks.

To better align the already implemented agile approach with Automotive SPICE®, optimizations were proposed and implemented that facilitate scaling planning from the team level to the overall project level. Important elements here were the introduction of a uniform approach to effort estimation and a common understanding of planning horizons.

In the future, project planning should take into account the Program Increments proposed in SAFe®. The Program Increments represent higher-level iterations that encompass several Sprints. The concept was adopted, and the overall project plan was subsequently planned in iterations (PIs) and Sprints. The team sprints were further synchronized so that joint planning events could take place simultaneously on a larger scale.

For the work in the various A-SPICE® process groups, a structure was defined that allows all development activities to be broken down from so-called "Initiatives" (larger feature groups) into Features and Stories. The planning horizons allow planning in PIs (Features) and Sprints (Stories).

On the tool side, the optimizations were supported by a combination of the already used Jira system and newly introduced apps:

In addition to process consulting and the implementation of the respective solution, catworkx also provided support in the application of the software through employee training specifically tailored to the company.

Conclusion: The restructuring of processes, supported by the Atlassian software, led to a transparent project status throughout the company. Project planning was also improved, as the clear presentation allows for the rapid identification of potential resource bottlenecks and appropriate countermeasures. Furthermore, the visualization of team dependencies enables better project planning.

The company successfully passed the necessary Automotive SPICE (MAN.3) audit.