VW Data Lab

Conception and development of the car park search app “Highway Buddy” for Android smartphones. The incentive for this solution for the commercial vehicle industry was the disastrous parking situation on German motorways, as stated by the Federal Ministry of Transport. According to studies, trucks drive to at least 3 rest areas on average to find a free parking space. Sometimes it is even necessary to park in risky areas such as the entrances or exits of the rest areas.

• Ensuring the required quality, performance and stability of the software solution
• Smooth integration of QA measures into the agile development process
• Efficient coordination of the involved implementation partners as well as high transparency for the management over the entire development and test process by comprehensive reporting.
• Valuable insight was gained from the operational practice of professional drivers and taken into account in the development process.

Steps & Highlights

In the project, Vision11 was responsible for the management of all test activities for quality assurance of the software solution. This included, in particular, the planning of the test phases in coordination with the project management and the implementation partners involved, the definition and administration of the test management tools as well as the provision of equipment and test resources, the organization and execution of successive integration tests accompanying the sprints of the development teams, performance and endurance tests and practical tests.

In road tests over a distance of more than 5,000 km, multiple real traffic situations were simulated using several test teams operating in parallel. The particular challenge was to guarantee defined initial conditions as well as the exact temporal and spatial coordination of the sometimes complex test sequences of the different teams. During the practical testing phase, the Vision11 team accompanied selected truck drivers with the app in real operation. In the subsequent nationwide field test, which was designed for 150 drivers, the Vision11 team supervised the professional drivers for over 2 months and ensured that the test results were transmitted from the pilot operation to the project team.

Added value

The aim was to use an innovative digital solution to reduce the stress factor for truck drivers, minimise unnecessary fuel consumption when searching for a parking space and increase the safety of road users.

Vision11 ensured the required quality, performance and stability of the software solution. The result was a smooth integration of the QA measures into the agile development process, the efficient coordination of the involved implementation partners as well as high transparency for the management over the entire development and test process through comprehensive reporting. In addition, valuable findings from the operational practices of professional drivers were gained and taken into account in the development.

About VW data Lab and “The Garage”

The Volkswagen Group is focusing on new technologies for the mobility of the future. The VW Data Lab was founded in Munich as the first of several interdisciplinary think tanks to work on innovative solutions for tomorrow’s mobility. At the same location, “The Garage”, the lab for implementing tomorrow’s customer needs, was established under the leadership of employees of the Volkswagen Group brands.