In March of this year in Arizona an Uber semi-autonomous vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian. This was definitely a tragic event. A life was lost in an accident that critics feel could have been avoided. This accident should have been avoided given there was a backup driver in the car. Uber immediately suspended all semi-autonomous vehicle testing.
As time has passed, I began to relate this accident, as tragic as it was, to Agile. More specifically I related it to the Lean-Startup cycle. Uber, Alphabet, Tesla, GM, etc. are all experimenting with driverless or semi-autonomous driving. These companies are 1.) Developing hypothesis 2.) Testing their hypothesis through experimentation 3.) Measuring the results of their experiments and 4.) Learning and determining the next step to address the market challenge/opportunity.
As these companies progress we are realizing and witnessing incremental progress toward autonomous vehicles being released for consumer consumption. Remember when lane departure systems were the newest innovation and limited only to premium vehicles. This was after rear and forward car sensors became standard features. We now see automatic breaking systems standard features in even mid-level sedans. This is the first, third, and seventh principles behind the Agile Manifesto. The highest priority is to deliver valuable software to customers, deliver working software frequently and the delivery of working software as the true measure of progress are all encompassed in this innovative drive to autonomous cars.
Moreover, all of these incremental progressions and experiments are all driving to a common vision that is integrated into each of these companies organizational mission statements.
“make transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere, for everyone.” – Uber’s Mission Statement
“to make the world around you universally accessible and useful.” – Alphabet Inc.’s Mission Statement
If there was an Industry Vision it would be easy to see how all of these initiatives have been leading to a “Safer, reliable, and more efficient use of the highways.”
Now that features such as Lane Departure and Automatic Braking Systems are becoming more standard, the autonomous vehicle can sense the environment around the vehicle and stop the car. The next increments will probably include features that control the car while in motion.
The clearly avoidable failure of the semi-autonomous car striking and killing a person will place doubts in consumer’s minds and may even lead to regulation but it will not stop the progression to autonomous driving. This accident is a tragic lesson that the industry will analyze and learn from. They received instant feedback by putting the experiment on real roads and not some test track with a controlled environment. The tragic lesson learned through the death of a pedestrian is just one of the many lessons learned so far. Those companies that choose to continue experimenting with driverless and/or semi-autonomous driving will analyze these lessons. They will apply those lessons in improving existing features, such as automatic braking systems and move forward with releasing additional features. They will learn from this failure.
