The DevOps Roadblock: A Masterclass in Automotive Change Management

As automakers strive to create the next generation of connected vehicles, software now stands as vital as the mechanical components of a car. They are being pressured to produce advanced digital systems, such as driver assist systems to infotainment systems, at a pace that reflects the consumer tech expectations. This has compelled most manufacturers to adopt DevOps, a collection of practices that are aimed at accelerating development and reducing release times. However, the same speed that makes the look appealing can also present some serious risks when it is not balanced with discipline.

The difficulty in a sector where reliability and safety cannot be at the cost of speed is usually how to get the appropriate balance of swift innovation and consistent delivery. Naresh Kalimuthu became the voice of change in balancing between speed and reliability in automotive software that is very complex. He saw from the onset that the unbridled urge to introduce updates into the quality assurance was compromising the very systems that were designed to bring stability. Constant delivery, which is synonymous with agility, was presenting development teams with disruptions that made quality assurance testing unreliable and the staging environment lopsided with production.

Through such consequences, which the strategist could identify with himself, the innovator managed to point to the more fundamental necessity of disciplined change management in the environment where accuracy matters the most. He recognized that this misalignment weakened confidence in every release and, in some cases, allowed defects to slip into production. His intervention was grounded in a simple truth: moving fast only works when you can also trust what you are delivering.

He also brought a reorganization of the release pipeline, which reinstated predictability, without paralysing innovation. The solution was constructed based on a two-step approach. To start with, all code was merged on a clean, production-like environment after every two weeks, which provided quality teams with a solid base on which to do comprehensive testing. Second, production promotions were done at the close of these sprints after the builds had been vetted. This transition brought order to what had been a fragmented process and allowed the staging layer to finally serve its purpose as a true reflection of production. Over time, the results were clear: incidents in production dropped sharply, and teams were able to spend less effort on emergency fixes and more attention on steady improvements.

The expert’s approach carried cultural weight as well. Convincing development teams to slow down the constant stream of changes required reframing what progress truly meant. He stressed that agility was not just about speed to code, but also about how effectively that code could be deployed at scale. As he added, “Discipline is the engine of agility, not its anchor.” In this perspective, his work made teams adopt the notion that belief in delivery is as valuable as speed. In addition to process restructuring, Naresh also advocated, among other practices, the creation of environments based on Infrastructure as Code and the promotion of earlier automated quality and security inspections. These modifications were consistent with the new trends of the software community, as well as the needs of the automotive industry, which are unique.

The impact of this transformation extended beyond the immediate gains in stability. By cutting down production incidents, the quality of software in vehicles became more consistent, strengthening customer trust. It also changed the manner in which teams worked, whereby quality engineers were more empowered and developers became more responsible for the quality of their efforts. The new rhythm resulted in a healthier innovation cycle, where safety and speed could co-exist, without competing.

Looking ahead, the automotive industry will continue to face the challenge of delivering digital features at the pace of consumer technology while maintaining the standards required for safety-critical systems. Practices such as shift‑left testing, automated validation, and infrastructure standardization will remain essential to achieving this balance. The broader lesson is clear, not by racing faster, but by guiding speed with structure, can real progress be made. In connected vehicles, as in many fields, it is discipline that ultimately clears the path for innovation.