A way to a comprehensive process model for software acquisition from the viewpoint of the customer

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A way to a comprehensive process model for software acquisition from the viewpoint of the customer

Gantner, T. / Weber, T.

At DaimlerChryler AG, the greatest part of the software in use in electronic control units in automotive systems is provided by the suppliers. As the functionality and complexity of the software in automotive systems increases, the software acquisition (SA) process, in turn, is becoming increasingly complex: e.g. a customer in one project now often has to work with several suppliers and also with their sub-contractors. Therefore, the development of a mature software acquisition process is essential. For the definition of a mature SA process, the Software Acquisition Capability Maturity Model (SA-CMM) of the Software Engineering Institute can be used as a reference model, however the subprocesses and suitable methods for the key process areas still remain to be determined. This paper describes how the authors started to build a comprehensive process model and the experience made when they applied the process model in some pilot projects in the passenger car development business unit. The first key process areas worked on were requirements management, evaluation, solicitations and risk management.