In the fall of 2005, the Automotive Industry established the SAE J2746 Software Assessment Repository (SAR) Task Force with the purpose of achieving significant improvements in software quality and reductions in cost throughout the automotive supply chain. The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) and International Standards Organization (ISO) have developed specific guidelines for software development processes that have been embraced throughout the supply chain in the manufacturing of products used in automotive applications. These requirements are published internationally as ISO 15504-series (i.e., SPICE [1] and AutoSPICE [2]), and CMMI v1.x by SEI [3] in the USA.
An initiative of the SAE J2746 Task Force was to develop a global scheme for the use of assessment results performed by registrars, based on the CMMI/SPICE standards. This system will maintain assessment data which will be available to SAE J2746 SAR members by the establishment and maintenance of a common global SAE J2746 SAR Online Automotive Supplier Information System (SAR OASIS) database. Additionally, data of involved Software Assessment Standards Bodies (SASBs), Software Assessment Organizations (SAOs) and Automotive Experienced Auditors (AEAs) will be made available to all stakeholders in the international automotive community, such as suppliers and OEMs.
The SAE J2746 Software Assessment Repository (SAR) Task Force hopes to answer the following questions: Is Automotive Software Quality Improving? Is it better or cheaper? Is “Our Company” Capability Level X useful? Does it have enough resolution? Is it marketed and interpreted appropriately? What group was assessed and when? Do assessment results distinguish suppliers? Are the OEMs doing it internally? Where is the industry as a whole? Where is our organization compared to the collective whole? How can I contain my costs reflecting my improvement initiatives, yet make the information available to my customers? Can I reduce the number of assessments?
Potential repository impacts include: 1) Reduce redundant OEM assessments, 2) Reduce OEM assessment expense, 3) Save supplier burden, 4) Provide consistent results, 5) Improve assessment meaning and interpretation, 6) Provide details in addition to maturity level, 7) Prevent surprise issues due to loose interpretations of the results, 8) Improve industry software quality, and 9) Promote effective process improvement.