ArchE: CARIAD’s architecture tool for better and faster development

In the rapidly evolving automotive industry, the complexity of software and hardware architectures has surged, demanding advanced tools to streamline development. Recognizing the absence of a tailored solution, CARIAD developed ArchE—a custom-built architecture tool designed to accelerate and optimize the development of complex automotive systems.

What Are Architecture Tools?

Architecture tools are specialized software applications that assist engineers and developers in designing, modeling, and managing complex system architectures. These tools provide a structured approach to defining software and hardware interactions, ensuring consistency, scalability, and efficiency across development projects. In the automotive sector, architecture tools play a critical role in integrating functional safety, cybersecurity, and real-time performance constraints into system design.

Common features of architecture tools include:

• Model-based design to create detailed representations of system structures.
• Collaboration support for multiple stakeholders working on a shared architecture.
• Analysis and validation to ensure compliance with industry standards.

While many architecture tools exist, they often fail to fully address the specific demands of automotive software development. This is where ArchE comes in—offering a tailored solution that bridges gaps and optimizes workflows for CARIAD’s development teams.

What is ArchE?

ArchE is an architecture modeling tool tailored for software developers and electrical/electronic (E/E) architects engaged in the automotive sector. It enables the creation of precise models that integrate both software and hardware components, detailing their interfaces, behaviors, and resource allocations. This holistic approach ensures a unified and consistent view of the vehicle's architecture, facilitating efficient development and integration.

How ArchE works

Built upon JetBrains' Meta Programming System (MPS), ArchE allows for the creation of domain-specific languages (DSLs), enabling users to define processes directly as rules. This flexibility ensures that stakeholder requirements are seamlessly implemented, adapted, and extended within the tool. By consolidating various architectural models—spanning system, software, security, and more—into a single platform, ArchE eliminates redundancy and inconsistency, promoting a cohesive development environment.

Moreover, ArchE's integration with the version control system Git offers essential functions for collaborative and agile development, such as versioning, branching, and merging changes. This integration ensures that all parts of the software are automatically and continuously synchronized, significantly accelerating the development process.

Benefits of ArchE

• Unified Modeling Environment: ArchE serves as a single source of truth for architecture, supporting all related activities and processes.
• Integration of Specialized Disciplines: The tool tightly integrates special engineering disciplines like resource estimation, timing, safety, and security into the architecture process.
• Lifecycle Integration: ArchE is seamlessly integrated into the software development lifecycle, enabling functionalities such as diff/branch/merge and testing/integration.
• Continuous Improvement: The tool is c continuously evolving, with each update introducing new features that enhance productivity and simplify workflows.

CARIAD's Commitment to innovation

By developing ArchE, CARIAD has demonstrated its dedication to advancing automotive software development. The tool not only addresses current challenges but also anticipates future needs, ensuring that our development processes remain efficient, innovative, and aligned with the evolving demands of the automotive industry.