From Document-Based to Feedback-Driven Processes

The growth of awarded programs and the expansion of engineering capacities at RLS have surfaced new challenges. Delivering products in the shortest possible time and with high quality required a new approach. The engineering leadership team began discussing concepts such as “System House” and “Automotive OEM” in an improvement project with external consultants. Meanwhile, the engineering community expressed disappointment about the lack of clarity in role definitions and the non-transparent progress reporting.

To address the role topic, RLS decided to acquire a Stages server and deploy UL’s APF Modules as a kick-start. A new department was established with the scope of developing and operating the process. With my first team members and UL’s support, we started defining the “RLS Engineering House” approach:

1. The Ground Floor: Core engineering practices form the foundation. APF workflows are used ideally with only slight modifications to naming and descriptions.
2. The Upper Floors: Multi-level system engineering workflows support the definition of Statements of Work (SoWs) for the next downstream level by decomposing requirements to the appropriate scope.
3. The Roof: The Engineering Improvement initiative defined the Product Development Process Model, describing the phases and milestones from the customer and program level down to the sample phases of the components.

Having a defined process is one thing; ensuring that the process is lived is an even bigger challenge. “Bring the engineers along” is the key paradigm I set out for my process team.

Stages is the tool to manage processes, while Confluence is the tool engineers use day-to-day to share information. We are currently setting up a Confluence-based approach to document methodologies, work instructions, and tools, while leaving roles, activities, work products, phases, and milestones in Stages.

Our Confluence approach uses a “clone and own” principle: every program receives its own instance of the Confluence pages. Most importantly, we allow every user in the program to comment findings directly on the pages. A defined workflow to resolve these findings—handled by process designers and subject matter experts—allows us to provide fast feedback and interact with users in a structured, low-barrier way.

Replacing several hundred pages of documents is not an easy task. With the emerging organization, we could not tackle the full scope at once. Therefore, we chose an incremental path, replacing documents with new ones generated from our Stages content.

About the speaker:

Jens Walther is Vice President of Engineering Processes, Methods, and Tools at Rheinmetall in Kassel, a role he has held since June 2025. With over two decades of experience in automotive and industrial software development, Jens previously served as Principal Expert, Solution Owner, and System Architect at Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH (2008–2025). Earlier in his career, he worked as a Software Developer, Architect, and Project Leader at Werth Messtechnik GmbH (2000–2008). Jens holds a degree in Geography with a focus on Geographical Information Systems and Physical Geography from Philipps-Universität Marburg and the University of Alberta, Canada.