A Study on Automotive SPICE® Assessment Indicators Correlation with Product Quality

When Automotive SPICE [1] first emerged in 2005 by the AutoSIG [1] and up till now with PAM4.0 [1] release by the VDA in 2023 it has been used as a benchmark not only to ensure process compliance but also to leverage product quality. Starting with the assessment purpose, passing through the new product focused process groups & extensions of PAM4.0, and up until MAN.5 [1] for Risk Management of Products, the product risk has been a major concern for Automotive SPICE authors. However, in practice, it has always been a controversy between automotive organizations on whether A-SPICE compliance is a real indicator of high product quality, or it is only a limited metric to process excellence. In this case study, we were motivated to measure the correlation between A-SPICE compliance and product quality using real project assessment data to find out how far this claimed connection is valid.