Read the statements below and consider which of the statements come from an description of Agile methodology and which come from the Automotive SPICE process reference model:
- A mechanism is established for continuous monitoring of stakeholder needs
- The … process is now continually improved to respond to change aligned with organizational goals
- The schedule has to be kept continuously updated
- Continuing communication with the stakeholder is established
- Improvements may be planned in continuous incremental small steps
Are you ready for the answer..?
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Drum-role…
All the statements above come from the Automotive SPICE process reference model.
Surprised? Well, you shouldn’t be 🙂 The statements above talks about working closely with the customer, planning frequently and continually improve in small steps. In fact, continuous and continually is mentioned not less than 14 times in the ASPICE process reference model.
And as we know, to work with continuous planning, delivery and improvement are cornerstones of Agile methodology. For example in the first of the principles in the agile manifesto: “Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.”
The belief that we must use a phase gated, waterfall approach to software development in an automotive development project is a long lived industry myth. A myth that comes from our previous use of the waterfall model in existing quality management systems and a tendency to stick with familiar processes, rather than actual regulatory requirements.
So it appears that ASPICE and Agile are not as different as one might believe. Then how come many think a waterfall approach is the only option for an automotive product development project? My only answer to that is that the belief that we must use a phase gated, waterfall approach to software development in an automotive development project is a long lived industry myth. A myth that comes from our previous use of the waterfall model in existing quality management systems and a tendency to stick with familiar processes, rather than actual regulatory requirements.
So how could agile practices help us to follow the requirements from ASPICE? Let’s take the statements above as examples.
- A mechanism is established for continuous monitoring of stakeholder needs
- Continuing communication with the stakeholder is established
- The schedule has to be kept continuously updated
The first two statements come from the ASPICE process called SYS.1 System Requirements Elicitation. The third statement comes from the MAN.3 Project Management process.
Using agile methodology, you work closely with stakeholders in various ways. When using Scrum, a Sprint Review is held at the end of each sprint to demonstrate the progress made by the team and gather feedback from stakeholders. Using this feedback, the team and stakeholders collaborate to determine next steps. The order of the Product Backlog may be adjusted to align with new expectations.
Stakeholders can also be invited to the Sprint Planning event where the team plans what can be done during the next sprint. Stakeholders can be in the event to provide details on what is to be done, to increase the team’s understanding and confidence.
If you work with SAFe, you also have similar event on the team of teams level, called PI Planning and System/Solution Demos.
- The … process is now continually improved to respond to change aligned with organizational goals
- Improvements may be planned in continuous incremental small steps
The first statement is part of the Capability Level 5 of ASPICE called Process Innovation. The second statement comes from the process called PIM.3 Process Improvement.
The ability to continuously learn and improve is a fundamental aspect of the agile methodology. In Scrum, this is achieved through the Sprint Retrospective. The purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to enhance quality and improve effectiveness. During this meeting, the team reflects on their work during the Sprint, discussing what was successful and identifying areas for improvement, and then develops actionable steps to enhance their performance.
During the Sprint Planning event, identified areas for improvement are incorporated into the Sprint Backlog along with product development tasks. To ensure that these improvement tasks are not overlooked in favor of product development, teams may decide to dedicate a specific amount of time during each sprint for improvement work.
A summary of how agile practices can help implementing the Automotive SPICE reference process is provided in the table below:
