Project and Development Management for Electronic Systems
Managing complex development projects technically and organisationally
When an electronic system is developed, many decisions have to come together at the right time. Requirements are refined, hardware and software are developed, interfaces are aligned and tests are prepared. At the same time, there are targets for deadlines, costs and quality. If a prerequisite changes, this often affects several departments.
Silver Atena takes on project and development management for complex technical projects. Our project managers structure the work, coordinate interdisciplinary teams and make progress, risks and open decisions visible. Their technical understanding helps them to assess the impact on the product and the development plan together with the specialist departments.
Challenges in the development management of electronic systems
A development plan is more than a sequence of dates. The results of individual departments depend on one another: a changed system requirement can affect the hardware design, a new interface the software development and a changed product baseline the scope of testing. If such dependencies are recognised too late, work packages, evidence and delivery dates come under pressure.
In addition, decisions have to be made between technical options, available resources, costs and quality requirements. Risks must be identified early so that the project team can plan countermeasures. At the same time, customers and internal stakeholders need to be able to see what stage has been reached, what comes next and where a decision is needed.
Project management combines this information into a manageable overall picture. It creates the basis for setting priorities and handling changes with a view to the entire development project.
Services in project and development management
Silver Atena combines project management with experience in the development of electronic control units and systems. Our project managers coordinate technical work packages between system development, hardware, software, testing, quality and other stakeholders, and coordinate cooperation with customers and suppliers.
The project manager is responsible for planning and coordination within the agreed project scope. Requirements are developed by requirements engineering, and the technical solution structure is designed by system architecture and system integration. Project management ensures that this work is coordinated and that decisions and their impact are visible in the project plan.
Development planning and project structuring
Project goals, scope of services and key development steps are translated into a workable structure: work packages, responsibilities and dependencies between departments. This forms the basis for deadlines, resources and coordination with the customer. For key milestones, we agree which results, evidence and decisions must be in place before the next project step can begin. During the project, the plan is checked against the actual development status and adjusted where necessary.
Schedule, cost and resource management
Project managers track the progress of tasks and the resources required for the next steps. They consider deadlines and costs in connection with the technical work, because a delay in one assembly can, for example, affect integration or a planned test. Deviations are assessed and agreed with those involved.
Coordination of interdisciplinary development teams
System architecture, hardware, embedded software, mechanics, functional safety and testing look at the same product from different perspectives. The project manager clarifies responsibilities and ensures that information reaches the relevant departments. If an interface changes, for example, they follow up on the coordination between the teams concerned until the matter is resolved.
Risk and change management
Silver Atena identifies and assesses technical risks, supply dependencies and unclear requirements together with the specialist departments, tracks agreed measures and prepares decisions or escalations where necessary. We assess changes in terms of their consequences for scope, deadlines, costs and evidence. The responsible decision-makers approve or reject them in accordance with the agreed change process. We incorporate approved changes into the plan and track their implementation. Product baselines and configurations are handled in coordination with quality and configuration management.
Customer, supplier and stakeholder coordination
The project manager coordinates information and decisions between the customer, internal departments and suppliers. What matters is that open issues have an owner, decisions are documented and their impact is clear to everyone involved.
Project progress and reporting
Status reports, forecasts of deadlines and costs and suitable key figures make the project status transparent. They show not only completed work packages, but also missing results, existing dependencies and pending decisions.
Supporting development projects from definition to series production
In the definition phase, goals, scope, stakeholders and key dependencies are clarified. Together with the specialist departments, the project manager translates this information into development planning. This also includes the points at which results are needed so that integration, testing or qualification can begin.
During development, the project manager tracks the technical work packages and compares planning with actual progress. Open decisions and risks are referred to the responsible parties. If requirements or boundary conditions change, the consequences for architecture, development, testing and project goals are assessed.
As maturity increases, integration, evidence and preparation for the transition to series production move to the fore. The project manager coordinates the outstanding work and ensures that the product baseline, open issues and next steps are agreed between development, quality, production and the customer.
Traditional and agile methods in development management
Silver Atena tailors its approach to the project and aligns plan-driven and iterative ways of working with technical dependencies and verification requirements. For example, we coordinate the iterative development of individual functions with the dates on which an integrated product baseline is needed for testing.
Project management standards and competence models offer different kinds of guidance. PMI publishes standards and guides, including the PMBOK Guide. PRINCE2 is a project management method. The IPMA Individual Competence Baseline describes competences for project management. Whether and how these approaches are applied must be clarified in each project. Automotive SPICE is used to assess development processes. ISO 26262 addresses the functional safety of electrical and electronic systems in road vehicles. Both can shape project-specific planning and verification tasks, but neither replaces a project management method.
Project management for automotive, aerospace and defence
Electronic systems for automotive, aerospace and defence differ in their product requirements and verification processes. What they have in common is that development, integration, testing and quality must be coordinated. Silver Atena manages projects in line with the applicable customer and project requirements.
Automotive
In automotive projects, the coordination between development stages, test levels and production ramp-up can be particularly decisive.
Aerospace
Aerospace projects place project-specific demands on the planning and traceability of development and verification steps.
Defence
In defence projects, processes depend on the respective product, the parties involved and the agreed evidence.
Your benefits from structured development management
Consistent project management makes technical and organisational dependencies visible earlier. The team can better judge which work can be done in parallel and which results are needed for the next step. Changes are not simply noted at one point in the plan, but considered in terms of their consequences for development, testing and deadlines.
For the customer, this creates a transparent project status: which goals have been achieved? Where are there risks? Which decisions are still open? This transparency supports realistic planning and focused cooperation between all parties involved.
Project management in interaction with the engineering competences
Project and development management coordinates the work along the entire product development process. Requirements engineering provides the basis for the development scope. System architecture and system integration defines the technical structure and interfaces of the system and coordinates their technical integration. Hardware development, embedded software and other departments implement the solution.
Test and validation, as well as environmental testing and qualification provide results on the product baseline achieved. Quality and configuration management supports the controlled handling of processes, changes and product baselines. For the transition to manufacturing, the project manager works with industrialisation and transition to series production. They keep the dependencies between these activities visible in the project plan and in communication.
Why Silver Atena for project and development management?
Silver Atena’s project managers are rooted in technical departments and coordinate teams from several disciplines. Together with the responsible experts, they assess development stages, interfaces and risks and take the results into account in planning and control.
Silver Atena supports electronic systems from early definition through development and validation to the transition to series production. Project management connects the disciplines involved and ensures that technical and commercial project goals are managed together.
Discuss your development project with Silver Atena
Are you planning the development of an electronic system or do you need support in managing an ongoing project? Talk to Silver Atena about the project scope, technical interfaces and the project management you need.