Model-Based Testing of Automotive Electronics

The increasing importance of electronics in the automotive industry is illustrated by the growing proportion of manufacturing costs taken up by electrical and electronic systems - this has now reached approx. 30%. At the same time, electrical and electronic systems are the main cause of vehicle failures in the field, accounting for approx. 30% of these. Manufacturers and also suppliers are well aware of the problems caused by the increasing number of electronic control units (ECUs). Thus, quality assurance is becoming increasingly important, as problems in quality are a liability risk, with the danger of image problems and the cost of recall campaigns and rectification. The realization is that "good quality is expensive, bad quality even more so". Quality must not be left behind by the immense speed at which new technologies and functions are being developed. Quality is becoming a decisive factor in competition, and quality assurance is becoming a key task and a core competence; and testing is a key component of quality assurance. To allow testing throughout the entire development process, powerful and efficient means of developing and describing tests are necessary. These also have to take into account the various requirements of the test tasks and the different development phases. This contribution gives an overview of modern test development in various phases of development and of test management throughout the overall process, using a model-based test process