Agile Development for Manufacturers: The Emergent Gating Model

Agile Development, a method that originated in the software industry, has been successfully adopted by manufacturers with positive results. However, it had to be adjusted to accommodate the differences between hardware and software development. Many manufacturers have combined Agile Development with their classic gating systems to create an Agile-Stage-Gate hybrid model. This model provides a more fluid and adaptable approach and has been used by leading-edge manufacturing companies. The development process is broken down into increments, with each iteration time-boxed and consistent in length. The team undertakes agreed-to tasks and holds regular scrum meetings to review progress and sync their various tasks. The process moves along iteration by iteration until that stage of the project is finished and deliverables are ready for the upcoming gate meeting. Manufacturers should try to stay true to the Agile model and adopt as many Agile principles and methods as is realistically possible to reap the benefits.