Local Group Boeblingen - September '25

The Problem: Why Our Project Estimates Fall Short

We often see projects exceed budgets and deadlines, and a major hidden culprit isn't the core development work, but the underestimation of critical supporting and management processes. While our focus is on deliverables, the essential "overhead" of quality assurance, risk, and change management often gets neglected. These vital activities, aligned with both ASPICE 4.0 (e.g., SUP.1, SUP.8, SUP.9, SUP.10, MAN.3, MAN.5) and foundational ISO/IEC 15288/12207 standards, create a risky blind spot in our planning.

My Idea & Proposal: A Holistic Estimation Model, Rooted in Standards

My proposal is to move towards a more realistic project estimation model by systematically integrating the effort required for these crucial processes. This means explicitly accounting for activities such as Quality Assurance (ASPICE 4.0 SUP.1 / ISO/IEC SUP.10), Configuration Management (ASPICE 4.0 SUP.8 / ISO/IEC SUP.7), Problem Resolution (ASPICE 4.0 SUP.9 / ISO/IEC SUP.8), Change Request Management (ASPICE 4.0 SUP.10 / ISO/IEC SUP.9), Project Management (ASPICE 4.0 MAN.3 / ISO/IEC MAN.3), and Risk Management (ASPICE 4.0 MAN.5) directly into our planning. This isn't just about adding more time; it's about building robustness and predictability, leveraging established industry best practices.

The Solution: A Practical Toolkit for Integrated Planning

Imagine a toolkit designed to help project teams accurately estimate and track these crucial processes, bridging the gap between general ISO standards and specific ASPICE 4.0 requirements. This could include:

• Customizable Checklists: To ensure no supporting or management process (from either framework) is overlooked during initial planning. ✅

• Estimation Templates: Tailored for specific activities, enabling precise planning for efforts like SUP.1 Quality Assurance or MAN.5 Risk Management.

• Integration Guidelines: To seamlessly incorporate these estimates into your existing project management and ALM tools, fostering compliance and accuracy.

By meticulously planning for these elements, we can achieve more accurate schedules, realistic budgets, and ultimately, higher project success rates, meeting both general and automotive-specific standards.

Call to Action: Let's Collaborate on Smarter Estimation!

I'm keen to connect with professionals experienced in Automotive SPICE 4.0, ISO standards, project managers, and quality experts. How do you currently tackle the challenge of estimating these vital supporting and management activities, especially considering both general and automotive-specific standards?