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An effective development strategy is needed to implement short development times for mechatronic systems, which themselves are becoming increasingly more complex. Besides the ever-increasing use of advanced computer-based development tools, special attention must be paid to the validation of the functional behavior of the prototype during all phases of the development process. Using the example of systems for powertrain automation, this paper depicts the resulting advantages arising from the long-time observation of time-based values of open- and closed-loop controlled systems. The method of long-time observation introduced here is based on the acquisition and analysis of information in all phases of the development process. Where numerous vehicles are already in the hands of selected customers during fleet tests, these late phases in particular are covered thoroughly. It should be noted that newly developed systems are normally unobserved or only subjectively evaluated by the driver.

Road Load Data is an important source of information for quality improvements. Vehicle and component load information, such as driver behaviour and other characteristics of vehicle use in real world conditions, are the basis for many engineering tasks, including fuel economy and life-time optimization. This new approach in road load data acquisition is based on the increasing existence of data bus networks in modern vehicles, as well as further improvements in data acquisition technologies. The applications of which alllow smart, inobtrusive solutions and, increasingly, the collection of real world customer data. This methodology of data collection leads to a significant alteration of the company-wide data base, relevant for future engineering efforts. The growing share of real world customer data will result in a more optimized and customer-orientated range of solutions, for all areas of vehicle engineering.