Steffen Thiel

Modelling and using product line variability in automotive systems

Although the product line approach for automotive systems is promising because it gains significant economies of scope, it requires systematic planning and continuous management of variability throughout the development process. The authors discuss the value of variability in product lines and describe their approach to modeling and using variability, which evolved from their work at Bosch.

A Case Study in Applying a Product Line Approach for Car Periphery Supervision Systems

Car Periphery Supervision (CPS) systems comprise a family of automotive systems that are based on sensors installed around the vehicle to monitor its environment. The measurement and evaluation of sensor data enables the realization of several kinds of higher level applications such as parking assistance or blind spot detection. Although a lot of similarity can be identified among CPS applications, these systems are traditionally built separately. Usually, each single system is built with its own electronic control unit, and it is likely that the application software is bound to the controller’s hardware. Current systems engineering therefore often leads to a large number of inflexible, dedicated systems in the automobile that together consume a large amount of power, weight, and installation space and produce high manufacturing and maintenance costs. This paper reports on an initiative undertaken by the Bosch Group in applying a product line development approach to develop CPS systems economically. Product line development represents a multi-system engineering approach which takes common and variable aspects between systems in the same application domain into account. It provides a basis to develop a line of products economically based on a common system architecture and reusable components. A product line allows the degree of reusability to be optimized across different systems while simultaneously preserving the overall quality. This supports the need to develop more integrated and flexible multi-functional systems quickly and cost-effectively. The purpose of this paper is to report on the experiences and results obtained from a case study in developing a product line of CPS systems.

On the Definition of a Framework for an Architecting Process Supporting Product Family Development

Product families are an important system development paradigm that can yield significant improvements in time-to-market, cost reduction, and quality. In order to gain such improvements, a product family must be built based on a common architecture. The architecture is a key artifact of the development process because all product family members make use of it. However, not all requirements on designing such architectures have been addressed in depth within current research. This paper presents QUASAR, a process framework that supports the design of high-quality product family architectures. QUASAR deals with early architectural considerations, guides the modelling of architectural views and variability, and documents how to evaluate the achievement of architectural qualities. The paper describes fundamental concepts, activities, and benefits of the QUASAR framework.

Exploring the Context of Product Line Adoption

To successfully adopt a product line approach an organization needs to define its adoption goals, conceive a strategy, and implement a plan to achieve those goals. This process is repeated for each business unit and individual affected by the product line adoption. This paper describes how the characteristics of the market, organization, business unit, and individual influence product line adoption goals, strategies, and plans.

Session Report on Product Issues in Product Family Engineering

This report gives an overview of the session on product issues of the 4th International Workshop on Product Family Engineering. It briefly sketches the issues presented in the technical session and summarizes the results and open issues of the subsequent discussion session.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RESTRUCTURES CAR ELECTRONICS

In this paper, the authors present a method for installing a reliable and stable software architecture for a car using information technology. A feasibility study is described in which information communication, entertainment, navigation, and vehicle electronics are integrated on a standard PC platform. Use of a product line approach to software development is discussed.