Mandated use of QA·C to support a MISRA-C rule-based quality system endorsed by automotive supplier

Continental, the international automotive supplier, is a leading innovator in hybrid and electric cars and has core expertise in brake systems, chassis and safety systems. Their stated aim is to make individual mobility safer, more comfortable, and more sustainable through forward-looking products and services. Most of their products are categorised as safety-critical, demanding an understandably strong focus on quality, making software quality a specific concern. Compliance to the MISRA-C standard is a primary goal along with additional objectives for metrics analysis.

Ignacio Garro, from their PLM System and Software Engineering Tools department states Our organisation is complex and broad-ranging, and each development area has specific software tools needs to achieve quality goals. Nevertheless, an increasing trend among the business units has been to choose PRQA's QA·C product over other alternative providers' solutions due to its satisfactory balance between features and costs.

Projects and products depending on the PRQA solution now extend to different automotive areas from braking systems through to comfort controls, engine and transmission management, infotainment equipment and displays. In fact, QA·C is now a must in many of these release processes, and in some cases extends to checking of every compile process he concludes.

The main motivation behind selection of QA·C was its accurate delivered compliance to the MISRA-C standard. Detailed language-focussed static analysis is very important, mainly to detect small errors that could lead to big product failures. The technique is far more efficient that other practices such as peer review. Additionally, QA·C is seen as a feature-rich product that integrates without complications into the software process.

Continental also commented that since code analysis checks are always getting more complex and accurate, they expect that the use of PRQA products will ease the constant challenge in staying at the top of the quality standards. In order to get the maximum benefit from this technology, a well planned strategy incorporating deployment of rules, compliance process and results management should be developed upfront.