Many things should be defined in advance of the actual development process:  What should the vehicle architecture look like, which systems are assigned to which domain, which active and passive driving safety technologies are used, which drive system is envisaged by the concept, which energy consumers are using the on-board power supply and what scope of functions is needed? In addition, we clarify at an early stage how much communication is required, what interface and network management look like, what possible diagnostic concepts might look like, and what are the requirements for real-time and data security, to name just a few examples.