Automotive SPICE (ASPICE) and ISO 26262 expect every work product, from requirements to design, code and tests, to be linked in both directions; in other words, traceability. In an audit, "which test verified this requirement, and what did this change affect?" should be answerable in a few clicks. Polarion ALM keeps these links in one database, turning traceability from a document-gathering exercise into part of everyday work.
What is ASPICE?
Automotive SPICE is a process assessment model used to evaluate the maturity of automotive suppliers' software and system development processes. The name and the model belong to the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), and it is based on the ISO/IEC 330xx family of process assessment standards.
The model rates process capability on six levels, from 0 (incomplete) to 5. The current version, 4.0, was published at the end of 2023. Establishing consistency and bidirectional traceability between work products is a core topic of the system and software development processes.
What does ISO 26262 require?
ISO 26262 addresses the functional safety of electrical and electronic systems in series production road vehicles (excluding mopeds); its current edition dates from 2018. It builds a chain from hazard analysis and risk assessment (HARA) to safety goals, safety requirements and verification.
Each link in the chain must connect to the previous one: you must be able to show which requirements a safety goal was broken down into, which design elements satisfy them and which tests verify them.
Why traceability gets hard
- Requirements live in Word, design in another tool, tests in Excel; links depend on hand-copied IDs.
- When a requirement changes, finding the affected design and tests takes hours, and sometimes never happens.
- Before an audit the traceability matrix is "tidied up" for weeks and starts going stale the day it is finished.
- The link between customer requirements and internal requirements breaks; who approved what becomes unclear.
Traceability with Polarion
Polarion ALM keeps requirements, risks, design, tests and change records as work items in one database and stores the links between them with their roles. LiveDocs are structured specifications that look like Word documents but where every line is a traceable work item; each requirement's change history is kept automatically.
Siemens' "Polarion for Automotive" template package provides work item types aligned with ISO 26262 parts 3–8 and ASPICE (requirement, safety goal, hazard, test case, change request), templates for HARA and verification reports, approval workflows and dashboards. It is a paid package and requires Polarion ALM 2404 or newer.
A ready template is a starting point; the real work is adapting your own processes, approval steps and the import of customer requirements to that structure.
How Aselsis helps
As a Siemens partner, Aselsis provides installation and configuration, process tailoring (including ASPICE and ISO 26262), integration, training and extension development for Polarion ALM. Extensions we developed are published on Siemens' official Polarion extensions portal. We do not sell licences; we work with your existing licence or your licence provider.
Frequently asked questions
- What is ASPICE?
- Automotive SPICE is a VDA-owned process assessment model for automotive suppliers' software and system development. It rates process capability on six levels from 0 to 5; the current version is 4.0.
- Which systems does ISO 26262 cover?
- The functional safety of electrical and electronic systems in series production road vehicles, excluding mopeds. The current edition is from 2018.
- Can a traceability matrix be kept in Excel?
- On small projects, yes, but it has to be updated by hand on every change and goes stale before the audit. In an ALM tool the links live in the records themselves, so the matrix is always current.
- Is Polarion for Automotive free?
- No. It is listed as a paid template package on Siemens' extensions portal and requires a licensed Polarion ALM 2404 or newer.
- Does Aselsis sell Polarion licences?
- No. Aselsis provides installation, configuration, process tailoring, integration, training and extension development for Polarion ALM; it does not sell licences.
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