Definition and use of logical and physical architecture within vehicle concept development

The automotive industry is currently undergoing a change in the development philosophy from component-oriented towards function-oriented Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE). This originates in upcoming, disrupting trends where cars are transforming to digital, connected systems. The interconnected relationships in the vehicle system and the company organization will not be manageable with today's development methods. MBSE requires a sophisticated methodology, like the RFLP-framework suggests. Fundamental to MBSE is the architecture aspect of the system. Such architecture is represented with a system model and offers different architecture views (FLP), for specific concerns. Especially the differentiation between logical (L) and physical (P) perspective is rather uncommon, no standard understanding can be identified. This contribution compares existing understandings of L and P architecture views and derives a detailed definition. As L and P are consecutive architecture views and strongly dependent on each other, the transition and specification process of those is elaborated as well. Thereby the so called architecture node is introduced, offering a methodical support to transform L into P architecture. In conclusion, the relevance of P-decisions in the RFLP-framework is to be emphasized.