Project Management in Development (Powertrain)

For classic combustion engines and alternative drive concepts, the powertrain is an essential centerpiece of every automobile.

New technologies, complex exhaust treatment systems, digitalization and steadily rising requirements pose ever-larger challenges to the automotive industry and powertrain development.

The cross-divisional powertrain projects can therefore be organized into the classic phases of project management and supported with agile tools and instruments.

With a focus on implementation that is in line with the schedule and cost objective, PEC was commissioned to define milestones, deadlines, and objectives and to develop and implement modern change and error management systems.

Committees and reporting structures were defined and their results made available in databases for all those involved for subsequent projects.

The project’s main topics were:

Generation and coordination of system performance specifications
Execution of benchmark analyses for different powertrain parameters
Coordination and management of schedule and rollout planning
Execution of risk analyses
Formulation of targets for milestones and quality gates
Definition and establishment of reporting structures and reporting
Introduction of shop-floor management systems
Development and implementation of change and error management processes
Management of agile teams during the error elimination process
Development and implementation of SW tools to support resource planning, scheduling, change and error tracking, and variant management
Generation and filling of knowledge management systems
Execution of “lessons learned” workshops
Development and implementation of an innovation process

To safeguard the generated project-specific know-how and the permanent provision of opportunities and risks for subsequent projects, modern knowledge and innovation databases were developed, implemented and filled. These are regularly updated within the course of a project and the results are communicated within the different development divisions.