Agile Development in Manufacturing Companies: Best Practices and Pitfalls
Robert G. Cooper, Peter Fürst
Abstract
Seeking to get the <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">best of both worlds</i> , leading manufacturers have borrowed agile development from the software world and integrated it with their Stage-Gate method. Typically, physical-product firms <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">adopt some but not all elements of agile</i> and embed them into the stages of their familiar gating process to replace the traditional product management methods. The resulting hybrid Agile–Stage-Gate (A-SG) model delivers very positive performance results: faster response to change, higher customer satisfaction, and increased team motivation. Based on the input from leading firms, the article describes a consensus A-SG model that physical-product firms have crafted, including a number of major differences from the “pure agile” model. Observations and suggestions from experienced A-SG users are summarized. Agile is a new way of working based on a unique mindset; thus, a physical-product version of the agile principles is also presented. But no system is perfect, and pitfalls to watch out for are identified and summarized for manufacturers.