Modern Software Quality Assurance in Safety-Critical Automotive Programs an Integrated Framework for Continuous Compliance and Engineering Excellence

Abstract

Modern automotive software has evolved from isolated embedded controllers to highly connected software-defined vehicles (SDVs). This evolution has significantly increased expectations on software quality assurance (SQA), process governance, functional safety, cybersecurity and regulatory compliance. Traditional milestone-based quality assurance is no longer sufficient for agile and continuous development environments. This paper proposes a Continuous Software Quality Assurance (CSQA) framework integrating Automotive SPICE, ISO 26262, engineering analytics and risk-based governance. The framework enables continuous evidence collection, proactive audit planning, objective process measurement and early identification of compliance risks. A representative SDV case study illustrates improvements in audit readiness, traceability coverage, defect prevention and engineering efficiency.