Workshop on superset platforms

We wish to invite you and your colleagues to a cross-company workshop on the topic of superset platforms. The topic is explored as one of the research activities in project 9 (‘Strategic Ecosystem Driven R&D Management’) and it is a central principle of RADICAL/AI.

The cross-company workshop is planned for March 4th between 09:00 – 12:00 at Lindholmen in Gothenburg. For those who cannot travel we can provide a link when closer to the event. However, we encourage on-site participation if at all possible.

Background:

Most organizations fall into one of three broad categories: project-centric, product-centric, or platform-centric. Project-centric companies organize everything as a project. Whether they are developing a product, adapting it for a specific customer, or rolling out a new capability, the dominant mental model is the same: a clearly defined start and end date, a fixed budget, a predefined scope and a temporary team that disbands once the work is “done.” Product-centric companies represent a step forward. Here, the primary unit of organization is the product rather than the project. Each product typically has its own dedicated team, roadmap, budget and commercial goals. Products evolve over time through successive releases and there is usually a stronger sense of ownership and accountability than in project-centric organizations. Platform-centric companies take a different perspective. Instead of treating each product as an independent entity, they invest in a shared platform that provides common capabilities across multiple offerings. Product teams build on top of this platform, adding product-specific functionality while benefiting from shared infrastructure, data, and architectural decisions.

A superset platform, however, assumes that the full superset of all functions and features across all current and future products is generated from a single, coherent platform. In this model, individual products are no longer built as largely separate artifacts. Instead, each product is effectively a configuration of the platform: one specific instance chosen from thousands or even millions of possible combinations. The “product” becomes a particular selection of features, parameters, behaviors and constraints rather than a separate codebase or architecture.

More information can be found here:

https://janbosch.com/blog/index.php/2026/01/19/toward-superset-platforms/

In this workshop, we wish to explore the concept of a superset platform and how such an approach can help companies accelerate learning loops within their systems. Instead of viewing subsystems and components as static entities that occasionally are replaced with the next static version of the component, we need to transition to think in terms of a continuously evolving system where the capabilities are improving through learning loops. For this to happen, we believe that a superset platform approach is critical.

Key questions to explore include:

• How does one deal with customization for specific customers while maintaining a superset platform?
• What are effective ways to deal with the configuration process?
• How can we generate all the surrounding artefacts such as documentation, test case selection, regulatory compliance documentation, etc. as part of the configuration process?
• How do we ensure that the data coming back from the field can be combined as it comes from different customers and different releases?
• How do we use this data for automated learning loops using federated learning and for continuous learning by R&D teams?

The workshop will include both company presentations and time for discussion. We ask all participating companies to prepare a short (10-15 minutes) presentation in which you outline:

• What is your current approach and what are the key drivers for moving towards a superset platform approach?
• What are the key challenges you will have to solve to move to a superset platform approach?
• What are the actions to take and how can we support you in this?

The company presentations will work as the basis for discussion and as a foundation for knowledge exchange between the participating companies.

To register for the workshop please send an e-mail to helena.holmstrom.olsson@mau.se

Most welcome and we hope to see you on March 4th!
Also, please help us share this invite in your organization!

Kind regards,
Helena and Jan