Exploiting your data well

Based on our research, we’ve developed a four-dimensional model for the digital transformation in the software-intensive embedded systems industry. In the last two posts, we explored the business model and product upgrade dimensions. This post is concerned with the data exploitation dimension.

As shown in the figure, the first step in most companies is focused on the use of data for quality assurance and diagnostics. In this case, the data often arrives at the company in batches and through customer complaints. In response to a complaint, company representatives download the data and investigate whether the system behaved incorrectly and seek to identify the root cause. Many companies have been using this type of data for decades.

The second step is the use of data to monitor product performance and feature usage. This form of data collection is typically introduced in combination with the more frequent deployment of software. Monitoring product performance allows the company to confirm that the product is performing well after a software upgrade. Measuring feature usage allows for more informed prioritization of R&D resources by ensuring that research and development predominantly focus on improving features that are actually used by customers.