Archetypical Approaches of Fast Software Development and Slow Embedded Projects

Abstract

Abstract-This paper describes the problem context of software development for mass-produced embedded systems, with distinguishing factors such as the co-design of software and hardware, strong focus on manufacturing aspects, supplier involvement and safety-critical functionality. In this context there is a need for a holistic model to explain the failures and successes industrial projects, where just investigating a single dimension, e.g. chosen ways-of-working or architecture is not sufficient.The main contribution is a holistic model consisting of five archetypical approaches to embedded software development, based on a mapping study over industrial cases in literature. The approaches range from "traditional" stage-gate projects focusing on product qualities and large integration efforts, to fast development in short loops by autonomous teams based on a composable software platform. The model aligns the processes with the architecture of the embedded software, and the implications on the business and the organisation. The model allows an research & development(R&D) organisation to identify where it is positioned and to evolve its software development approach. The model is elucidated by two empirical cases from a Swedish company.

Industrial Challenges of Scaling Agile in Mass-Produced Embedded Systems

“…The most common approach to develop embedded software, according to a mapping study [8], is to use an integration-centric approach, summarized as: Early in the development cycle requirements are allocated to software and hardware components. This is usual done by a central systems engineering team or architect.…”

Design Approaches for Critical Embedded Systems: A Systematic Mapping Study

“…CESs are used in a variety of application domains and multiple factors affect the decision-making to select or reuse a design approach. Quality constraints are among the most relevant factors, as also suggested by related work [8], [17], [18]. Application domains may also play an important role, as each domain groups a set of common requirements, that are in turn related to specific quality attributes [8].…”

“…We identified two studies that discuss software development processes and are related to CESs [7,8]. Although such processes do not focus or limit themselves to the design phase, they do have impact on the design phase.…”

“…This is not surprising as regulated environments typically involve activities that are not commonly used in these processes. Eklund and Bosch [8] investigated a holistic model for aligning software development processes with the architecture of embedded software. As part of this study, an SMS on development approaches for embedded systems was performed (based on the guidelines of Kitchenham and Charters [9]).…”

Development of Hybrid Result Processing and Management System for Nigerian Universities

“…In other words, successful software development project must intimate its success drivers. According to Eklund and Bosch (2013), software will be successful if it delivers the desired performance improvement, and also delivers cost that provides value for the organization. It is sad news that software and IT projects succeed at a low rate and also fail at an alarming rate around the world (Graham, Woodfield & Harrison, 2013;Fero, Loukis, Charalabidis and Osella, 2013;Oliveira, Thomas and Espadanal, 2014).…”