VW head of software given the chop.

Discussion in 'General' started by gooki, Jul 13, 2020.

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  1. gooki

    gooki Well-Known Member

    Christian Senger is no longer on the board of directors for VW group or VW brand.

    Looks like post Deiss house cleaning to me. Or maybe he over promised and under delivered. Time will tell.

    The replacement ...






    Wait for it ...





    Markus Duesmann, Audi's CEO a mechanical engineer.
     
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  3. Oceans2

    Oceans2 New Member

    Wow


    Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
     
  4. Pushmi-Pullyu

    Pushmi-Pullyu Well-Known Member

    Likely fired or demoted over problems with software in the I.D. 3, which has caused a delay in the car going on sale.

    VW has tried to deny rumors of a massive software failure, but the removal of WV's head of software does rather suggest a significant problem.

    From AutoBlog: "VW reportedly replacing head of software division over ID.3 struggles"

    And how bizarre is it that VW calls its software division "Car.Software.Org", as if it's an independent not-for-profit organization!
    o_O :rolleyes:
     
    bwilson4web likes this.
  5. gooki

    gooki Well-Known Member

    It'll be interesting. If they get it out on time with a few missing features, then I'd still consider that a success given their tight time-frames.

    If it truly is a cluster **** that will delay deliveries into next year, then it's understandable.

    My biggest concern is the union and state board members are misguided in there desire to retain jobs, and are kicking out anyone that's pushing efficiency that will reduce jobs.
     
  6. Pushmi-Pullyu

    Pushmi-Pullyu Well-Known Member

    I haven't looked into this situation closely, but I remember a longish comment from someone who has, going back and looking at when VW originally said the car would go on sale. As I recall, he said the delay looks like about 3 months.

    So no, the I.D. 3 won't be delayed until next year. It will go on sale later this year in Europe, with two pieces of infotainment software missing. Sadly, it won't be offered in the USA; we Americans will have to wait for the I.D. 4.

     
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  8. gooki

    gooki Well-Known Member

    Seems odd to drop high profile executives/directors over a 3 month delay.
     
  9. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web Well-Known Member Subscriber

    I remember a software manager, 'Hank', who reached 90% done and weekly incrementally changed it to 91%, 92%, e.t.c. Then one day a GE manager, Dick Hicks, replied in a loud voice,

    "95% isn't good enough! It is perfect! Ship it!"

    This was the right decision because the software went into the hands of the integration and test team. Their bug reports became the roadmap for where the programmers needed to work. As the operating system programmer, I helped the integration and test team. For example, a performance problem turned out to be a problem with the link overlay.

    One lesson learned at GE was how badly software can be written. VW would be well advised to create a software center in California for specific, EV models. Unlike mechanical problems of ICE/diesels, EVs are more software than mechanical.

    Bob Wilson
     
  10. ericy

    ericy Well-Known Member

    It is hard to tell from news reports what actually was going wrong at VW. If the issues are related to infotainment, then they probably aren't that EV specific unless it has to do with navigating to charging stations.

    I work in the software industry, and there are stories of companies that make screwups. I should add that I personally don't work in the automotive sector, but the software that our company sells is sometimes used by people in that sector. I see charts showing how the use of software in the automotive sector is constantly growing, and one of the issues in the sector in general is that automakers need to manage the increased complexity of things.

    In some cases, the overall methodology is at fault (what some call waterfall method, where you do the development, and testing cannot begin until the developers are done). There are other methods that on paper are supposed to be better, but it isn't obvious if they are that much better.

    One common flaw is what is called "feature-creep", where new features keep getting stuffed in, and each change delays things. Usually management should be able to freeze things and insist that any new features go in the next version.

    Another common issue is if the requirements change in mid-stream.

    Another possibility is that they have different teams working on different parts of the thing, and the different bits just don't work well with the others - possibly because the initial requirements were unclear. Or maybe they have a major supplier that produces something which isn't integrating well with the rest of the vehicle - again, because of unclear or poorly written requirements.

    Another possibility is that they offshored a bunch of the work to teams in India or some other distant location. That happens a *LOT* these days, but there are language, timezone and cultural issues that come into play, and it is harder for remote managers to stay on top of what these distant teams are working on. I have no idea if VW actually is offshoring work like this or not - but it is more of a general problem in the industry.

    Anyways, that's kind of a summary of the types of things that might be going wrong. News reports aren't giving a whole lot of detail, however, and I have no inside info, so all of this is just speculation as to what might have gone wrong.
     
  11. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web Well-Known Member Subscriber

    Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bosch-creates-single-unit-oversee-111110525.html

    (Reuters) - Germany’s Robert Bosch GmbH, the world’s largest auto parts supplier, said on Tuesday it is consolidating its software and electronics expertise in a single division, in order to get new digitalized vehicle functions on the road significantly faster.

    Bosch is the latest large automotive company to shift its emphasis from hardware to software as vehicles continue their transformation into mobile devices that combine transportation with digital services from e-commerce to infotainment — a trend driven heavily by electric car maker Tesla Inc <TSLA.O>.
    . . .
    "Supplying software from a single source is our response to the enormous challenge of making cars ever more digitalized," said Bosch board member Harald Kroeger, a former Daimler AG <DAIGn.DE> executive and onetime Tesla board member who is spearheading the new division.
    . . .

    First off, this is a good direction. Combining electronics and software makes systems that ultimately can be more flexible with reuse. But I believe Bosch was a co-conspirator in the VW diesel disaster: https://www.reuters.com/article/volkswagen-emissions-software/boschs-popular-diesel-engine-software-was-not-preprogrammed-to-cheat-idUSL1N1270Q820151007

    DETROIT/WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A popular diesel engine management program used by several top automakers, including Volkswagen AG, was not preprogrammed to detect when a vehicle was undergoing laboratory emissions testing, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a former EPA official.

    Instead, VW had the engine software modified to turn on the vehicle’s emission control system when it was being tested in the lab, on a rolling test bed called a dynamometer, then turn it off when the vehicle was on the road, the EPA said.

    Who did the modification?

    Bob Wilson
     
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  13. Pushmi-Pullyu

    Pushmi-Pullyu Well-Known Member

    The delay, and what has been rumored as a "massive software failure", has been widely reported. That has obviously caused a lot of embarrassment to Volkswagen. At most companies that alone would get you demoted or fired, let alone being the cause of (or more likely, being made the scapegoat for) a 3-month delay in a major new product.

     

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