Q&A – Leading edge software development

Not only our functions should always be technically up to date. We also apply this standard tou our development process itselg. We have summarized exactly how in a Q&A.

Q: What do we mean by “state-of-the-art” software development?

A: For us, state-of-the-art software development means that we use of established programming languages with associated coding guidelines, but also a high degree of automation, especially CI/CD. But another important point is staying up to date regarding new technologies, tools and methods.

In our environment (development of safety functions and autonomous driving) that means that we stay ahead in compliance with the latest versions of required standards such as ASPICE and ISO26262. With our own PMT solution, we support our colleagues in implementing topics such as traceability, MISRA or early testing.

Q: How do we manage to stay up to date?

A: Working in the automotive industry we have a strong focus on supporting our customers and projects with established procedures and practices. Yet still, it is important to us to stay in touch with recent technology trends in order to further simplify our development processes and continuously improve software safety.

One well established method to facilitate those goals are communities of practice. In these regular meetup sessions everyone interested is invited to join the discussion on topics like functional safety, C++ programming and much more.

Last year the C++ programming community enjoyed great support from multiple projects for establishing a common understanding of best-practices and how to best apply the most recent features of the C++ programming language during our daily work.

But also to participate at conferences is important so that we get some new sights from outside.

Q: Where are we heading? What are the next big challenges we want to tackle?

A: One of the biggest challenges in the near future will certainly be the topic of AI. Here we see two use cases, on the one hand the support of the development activity by AI, but also bringing functions that are empowered by AI into the car of tomorrow. Especially for the second point we have to ensure to use these technologies in accordance with the required standards and norms in the context of series development.

We are a very diverse team at VAIVA with a wide range of different backgrounds, levels of practical experience and knowledge among our colleagues. Still, in order to be a reliable cornerstone for our customers and project partners, we have to ensure that all our results are predictable, reproducible and testable. For this we’ve had great success using a mix of individual development, establishing mature development processes and having subject matter experts regularly share their knowledge with team members and colleagues.