Investigation into Increasing Authority Involvement in the Automotive Development Process by Applying Best Practices from Aviation

This study examines the involvement of authorities in the development processes of aviation and automotive industries by comparing the depth, frequency, and stages of their engagement. The background of this work is an ongoing research initiative focused on transferring methods from aviation to automotive. The method used in this study is an investigation of best practices across both industries. Based on this investigation, two proposals were developed for managing complex technologies, such as autonomous systems. Both proposals advocate for increased authority involvement, particularly during the early stages of projects. One proposal recommends making this enhanced involvement mandatory, while the other suggests it as a guideline rather than a requirement. To assess the benefits of these proposals, a human-input–based feasibility quantification method was applied. This method assesses feasibility on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 represents the lowest score, 5 is neutral, and 10 is the highest. The results indicate that the proposal recommending enhanced authority involvement achieved a score of 5.79, whereas the proposal mandating it scored 4.54. The conclusion of this study is that increasing authority involvement offers slight benefits when implemented as a recommendation rather than as a mandatory requirement.