Stabilising a mission-critical vehicle diagnostic app
Services
Technologies
Challenge and business need
The client’s diagnostic application had accumulated significant technical debt over time. Frequent crashes and unstable behavior meant that basic functions, including component flashing, often failed. These issues directly affected vehicle commissioning and workshop operations.
The client needed to:
- Regain stability and control over an application that had become unpredictable
- Remove critical bugs that were blocking vehicle commissioning and service work
- Reduce the risk of failures occurring on real vehicles in production and in the field
- Build a solid foundation for future development and new vehicle variants
After two years of mounting issues, the client needed a partner who could take full ownership, stabilise the product quickly, and restore confidence in the application’s reliability.
Our responsibilities
We took full ownership of the application and its delivery process. We worked closely with the client’s team, who provided access to the codebase, a thorough introduction from their architect, and three vehicles delivered to our office for hands-on testing.
Takeover and codebase audit
We began with a comprehensive audit of the legacy codebase. This allowed us to map the existing architecture, identify the root causes of instability, and prioritise the most critical issues affecting production and service operations.
Rapid stabilisation
Our immediate focus was stopping the crashes and restoring core functionality. We systematically addressed long-standing defects, starting with the issues that had the greatest impact on daily operations. Component flashing and ECU diagnostics were restored to reliable working order.
Testing on real vehicles and hardware
With three vehicles available in our Szczecin office, we could test changes against real hardware rather than relying solely on simulations. This gave us confidence that fixes worked in genuine production conditions and reduced the risk of regressions reaching the workshop floor.
Automated test coverage
We introduced automated testing to protect the application’s core functionality. Using Squish for end-to-end testing and QTest for component-level checks, we built coverage around the key diagnostic flows. This meant that future changes could be validated automatically, reducing the chance of reintroducing old problems.
Preparing for stable future development
Beyond immediate fixes, we restructured the codebase and delivery process to support ongoing development. The client could now plan new features and vehicle variants with confidence, knowing the underlying platform was stable and well-tested.
The result
Within eight weeks of takeover, we delivered the first stable release with the most critical production defects removed.
- 2 years of issues stabilised in 2 months: The backlog of accumulated problems was systematically cleared, restoring the application to reliable operation.
- 90% reduction in critical incidents: Crashes and blocking errors reported from workshops and production lines dropped significantly.
- 100% of key diagnostic flows covered by automated tests: Core scenarios are now protected by a combination of end-to-end and component-level tests running against real hardware.
- Full transparency and control restored: The client regained visibility over the codebase and can now safely plan new features and vehicle variants on a stable platform.
The client praised the team’s timeliness, proactive communication, and thorough approach to problem analysis. What had been an unpredictable liability became a stable foundation for the OEM’s diagnostic operations.
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Przemyslaw Krzywania
HMI Director