Supplier-customer collaboration in embedded systems engineering processes: Principles and case study

Embedded systems are composed of mechanical, electronic and software components. Only a smooth integration of these parts can ensure their functionality and should be the basis for a successful business concept. The development processes for embedded systems have to ensure multi-disciplinary, multi-life cycle, multi-site and multi-organisation at the same time. The value chain of embedded systems comprises the system provider, service providers as development partners or subcontractors, and tool providers for optimal leverage of development resources. Also customer interface cooperation should be improved for understanding customer needs and tailoring customer-specific solutions. This paper describes the embedded systems' engineering challenges in the collaborative supplier-customer value chain. It describes how to utilise a generic framework for embedded systems engineering processes development in a single case study. Our research context is a medium-sized Finnish embedded systems provider.