Agile implementation in hardware environment

Abstract

Agile development approaches are becoming more popular the last years. With large success in the software industry, the interest in using agile methods has shifted to the development of physical products. Since agile has been originally developed for the software industry, it does not cover aspects of the hardware development environment. However, some companies do want to switch from a traditional approach to a hybrid or even complete agile approach. Reasons for this can vary from the wish to reduce time-to-market, improve communication and collaboration among the teams, or because they do not want to lack behind their competitors even though they did not know if the method will be effective for their own company. The problem is that the implementation and use of the agile methodology in the traditional approach face some issues concerning effectiveness, performance, and mismatch with expectations. The objective of this research is to look into the implementation and use of the agile methodology in the traditional models in the hardware industry. This has led to the research question: How to effectively implement and use the agile methodology in the hardware environment?

A literature review has been conducted on the success factors and barriers of agile implementation in the hardware environment. Furthermore, the benefits and challenges of the use of agile are investigated and an overview is created. Moreover, a qualitative research approach is used to dive into the perceptions and best practices of agile by doing a case study with multi-person interviews at a large hardware development company. The findings of the success factors, barriers, benefits, and challenges are identified and compared with the literature. Remarkably, the success factors and barriers are difficult to see independently of each other, as they are often linked and can reinforce one another.

The way of implementing and using the agile method must match the company and the people. For the implementation, the mindset of the people should be right in place and the pilot can show if the proposed way of working is right. For the use, it is of significant value that besides the people aspect, the tools, and organizational structure are aligned. Also here, the rituals, prototyping, training, and way of specialization should match the company and the teams. The findings of this thesis can be used as a guideline to implement and use the agile methodology in large-scale hardware companies.