Introduction of an IT System for Consistent Testing and Resource Planning for Prototypes

Since the degree of maturity and the number of prototypes required for quality assurance in the automotive industry are of utmost important for product quality and development costs, the prototype process represents one of the core processes within the product development process.

Against this backdrop, an SAP-based system was designed for the optimization of the prototype process in the powertrain development of a commercial vehicle manufacturer and introduced with the following objectives:

• Process improvement through the prevention of system inconsistencies and multiple entries
• Transparent access to testing and planning data
• Optimal utilization of the test field resources
• Early recognition of and reaction to resource bottlenecks
• Integrated workshop commissioning and controlling

Within the scope of the design and realization of this IT system, PEC, as an interface between the involved departments and central IT, assisted with and supported the following activities:

• Process entry and analysis with regard to test planning and workshop management
• Identification of process vulnerabilities and optimization potential
• Target-process modeling using network plans
• Specification of department-specific requirements
• Coordination and support of implementation on the IT side
• Creation of test cases for the acceptance of the system
• Creation of user documentation and process handbooks
• Organization and execution of user and process training
• Rollout planning and execution