Tidigare mjukvaruintegration i mekatroniska system: En fallstudie hos en tillverkare av tunga lastbilar
Frida Lantz Bergkvist, Kim Kleczkowski · KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) · 2026
Software is becoming increasingly central to the functionality and competitiveness of complex mechatronic products. In the heavy-duty vehicle industry, this development creates a growing need to integrate software earlier in the development process. At the same time, early software integration is difficult to achieve in complex mechatronic systems, where safety-critical requirements, physical product constraints, and established industrial development practices shape how integration can take place. This thesis examines how early software integration is shaped in practice in complex mechatronic systems. The study is based on a qualitative single-case study conducted at a company in the heavy-duty truck industry. Empirical data were collected through semi-structured interviews with participants working in areas such as software, hardware, systems development, testing, architecture, and organizational development. The study includes system-level perspectives, with a particular focus on how software integration is coordinated across domains and system boundaries. The findings show that early software integration cannot be understood as a separate software activity. Rather, it is a socio-technical challenge shaped by the interaction between organizational structures, technical dependencies, and system architecture. Cross-functional and scaled lean-agile ways of working can support coordination, but in hardware-intensive industrial context it takes time to adapt. The findings also show that hardware and software are shaped by different development logics, while remaining mutually dependent in practice. A central conclusion is that architecture plays a decisive role in whether integration can be moved earlier. Stable interfaces, visible dependencies, clear functional ownership, and sufficient hardware–software decoupling enable more incremental integration and verification. The thesis contributes by showing that early software integration in complex mechatronic systems requires alignment between organization, technology, and architecture, rather than improvements in software development, test environments, or agile structures alone.