Automotive Design Engineers Talking while Working on Electric Car Chassis Prototype. In Innovation Laboratory Facility Concept Vehicle Frame Includes Wheels, Suspension, Engine and Battery.

Governed processes for Automotive and mobility engineering

Stages Automotive Process Framework

Engineering Excellence for Automotive Development

Automotive manufacturers face increasing pressure to deliver complex products faster while maintaining safety, quality and compliance. The Stages Automotive Process Framework helps standardize processes, improve governance and drive consistency across engineering teams and programs.

A quick start solution for Automotive processes

The Automotive Process Framework (APF) leverages UL Solutions’ deep expertise and decades of experience to help suppliers and manufacturers to accelerate the definition and use of standards-compliant automotive processes.

APF - Framework

APF can help you streamline process definition and use through:

  • A ready-to-use foundation for the creation of initial processes.
  • Extendable processes, and work product descriptions and templates, role descriptions, and other guidelines to fit your organization’s needs.
  • A cohesive process architecture that enables the definition of integrated processes that support all relevant automotive standards and best practices.
APF - Standards
 

Improve compliance with standards and best practices

The APF supports the project scopes of the following standards and industry best practices:

  • Automotive SPICE® v4.0 (including Hardware SPICE® and Machine Learning)
  • Mechanical SPICE® v2.0
  • Agile SPICE® 1.4.1
  • ISO/SAE 21434:2021 Road Vehicles — Cybersecurity Engineering
  • ISO 26262:2018 Road Vehicles — Functional Safety
  • ISO 21488:2022 — Security of the Intended Functionality (SOTIF)
  • ISO/PAS 8800:2024 Road vehicles – Safety and artificial intelligence

Achieve the right alignment and integration between agility and standards compliance

APF supports agile ways of working tightly integrated with the Automotive SPICE® engineering and supporting processes.

APF - Sceenshot

Best practices for APF adoption: Deploy early, iterate often

Accelerate success by using an iterative, incremental approach to define and use processes built on the APF foundation:

  • Start with the most critical needs and focus on typical projects.
  • Integrate your existing practices, templates, checklists, etc.
  • Involve all stakeholders in reviews and approvals.
  • Pilot with a few supportive projects as soon as possible.
APF - Circle

APF benefits

Faster process development

Reduces process development time, efforts and costs when compared with creating processes from scratch.

Seamless process integration

Provides a neutral framework that can be easily integrated into customers’ existing processes.

Comprehensive compliance coverage

Extensive project coverage and compliance mapping to Automotive SPICE® and other ISO standards.

Scalable process tailoring

Flexibility to create organization-wide standard processes and tailor them to the needs of specific business units and projects.

Built for complex systems engineering

Focuses on systems engineering and addresses the needs of complex projects, including mechanical, hardware and software components.

Experience Stages

Join a demo to learn more about Automotive Process Framework to learn more about the tool.