Given their historically evolved structures, the development departments of all automakers face various challenges, such as high complexity in their organization and processes—including documentation—as well as limited consistency in their IT tools. An automotive OEM has decided to design its processes to be results-oriented and lean in order to address current and future challenges. Central to this is a realignment with a significantly stronger focus on work outcomes.
Overcoming Challenges in the Development Organization
The following results are expected:
- Increasing Effectiveness at the Workplace
- Increasing Development Efficiency and Speed
- Establishing a results- and user-oriented standard in product development
The “Value Stream Orientation” project was jointly developed and implemented to increase the focus on work outcomes, identify cross-functional optimization opportunities and measures, and facilitate decision-making.
Targeted Measures Through Value Stream Analysis
In accordance with the Pareto principle, optimization potential and measures focus on the deliverables (e.g., specifications, test reports, etc.) that require the greatest amount of effort. To this end, the effort involved was determined for each deliverable across the entire development process using a value stream analysis. In the first step, the optimization methodology identifies the problems reported by employees and experts. In the second step, measures to increase efficiency were identified in workshops using generic levers (e.g., clarifying responsibilities, standardization, elimination, automation). Effective implementation was ensured by agreeing on the measures with established decision-makers.
At the same time, efforts were made to embed the continuous improvement process within the organization. To ensure ongoing quality and optimization, all work outputs were linked to processes, agreed upon with the process owners, and integrated into process release management. The result was a significantly more focused process landscape, a clear allocation of work outputs, and a focus on users and core value creation.
Sustainable Results and Long-Term Success
Thanks to our collaboration with 3DSE Management Consulting, we were able to minimize non-value-added activities and realize a 15% efficiency gain in development. The clearly defined responsibilities within the organization serve as the starting point for further continuous improvement. This contributes to ensuring the company’s long-term success.
