INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT LAUNCH WITH VOLKSWAGEN GROUP TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS INDIA
The project team around eKoala introduces itself
During the pandemic, the international project team 'eKoala' managed to get together exclusively in remote work and work together on the development and implementation of a new application. Within the last two years, the team has successfully implemented the product launch and found new ways to grow as a team in mobile work.
The challenges involved, how they mastered them as an internationally active team and what the 'eKoala' project entails are told by our colleagues at the Volkswagen Group IT Solutions location in Hanover.
What is the task of your software and what makes the project special?
eKoala carries out compatibility checks for later over-the-air updates of the device software in the car, for example.
Our team ensures that the software updates in the car work smoothly. This includes 80 to 100 control units that demonstrate a high level of technical complexity and integrate new services in the car. The software will be used by all Volkswagen brands in the future.
What contributes to your success in the project team?
Very important to us are the short communication channels between all parties involved - from the department to the developers. This includes open, friendly and transparent communication in the entire team, consisting of software developers, product owners, UI/UX designers, testers and the department. Our common goal is to focus on the relevant technical requirements and requires great trust and transparency between all stakeholders and team members.
How did the pandemic affect the project?
Remote work was a matter of course for us from the beginning of the project. Since we are represented at different locations such as Ingolstadt, Wolfsburg (VWGIS) and Pune (VWITS), we regularly switched on our camera in the virtual team meetings to get to know each other better.
A particular challenge was the onboarding of new colleagues. In particular, to convey the complex professionalism in different languages and also completely digitally, without physical meetings. That's why we have jointly developed digital measures for team building. For example, we used chat tools and open video rooms.
In addition, we took a lot of time in the appointments to ask questions and to be able to explain a lot to each other. It was important to take into account the temporal and cultural circumstances. The Indian colleagues, on the other hand, shared pictures of their excursions with us, for example hiking in the jungle and visiting the Holi Festival.
We thank you for this great insight into the project 'eKoala' and wish the entire team continued success!
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