Pioneering the combined use of agile and stage-gate models in new product development–cases from the manufacturing industry

Stage gate models have long been the norm in manufacturing industries. Whereas agile models, such as scrum, are standard amongst software industries. These two models have been traditionally been pitted against one another, each with its own advantages and limitations. A new trend is being observed, where gated models are becoming more agile, and agile models more gated. This trend indicates a need to combine the models, recognizing the limitations of both. We explore a number of cases where the models have been combined, very much based on trial and error, with adaptions being made as needed. The findings are relevant to product- and engineering design theory and education as stage gate models are commonly seen as the basis for modeling and teaching design. Certain qualities of agile are expected to be integrated into stage gate models, from which new process models might emerge. Such processes are expected to integrate more interdisciplinary collaboration along different stages of product development, facilitate more flexibility in setting requirements and allowing change. This article offers managers the possibility to understand how to combine stage gate and agile models and why, based upon cross company learning, hence fast tracking this process

Global product development: KPI selection support

Selecting key performance indicators in conventional product development is a challenging task for project management and is compound by global product development. Informed from the findings of two in depth case studies conducted with large Danish manufacturing companies, in this paper we develop and test a framework that supports the selection of Leading and Lagging key performance indicators in global product development. The framework provides an alternative approach to design, select and document key performance indicators by incorporating a challenge-oriented approach to selection

Questioning in Distributed Product Development Teams: Supporting Shared Understanding

Distributed teams are an increasingly common feature of New Product Development (NPD). Key to the success of these teams is the development of both short and longerterm shared understanding. Lack of shared understanding has been recognized as a significant challenge, particularly in the context globally distributed NPD activities. Poor shared understanding can ultimately result in delays and rework. One major antecedent of shared understanding development is question asking. This work uses a quasiexperimental study to test the impact of questioning support on different types of distributed teams, both homogeneous and heterogeneous. This extends theoretical insight into the development of shared understanding and contributes one of few empirical studies directly comparing the response characteristics of different team types. From a managerial perspective this work has implications for how distributed NPD teams can be more effectively supported, as well as how shared understanding development can be facilitated in the NPD process

Developing a support tool for global product development decisions

This paper investigates how global product development decisions are made through a multiple-case study in three Danish engineering. The paper identifies which information and methods are applied for making decisions and how decision-making can be supported based on previous experience. The paper presents results from 51 decisions made in the three companies, and based on the results of the studies a framework for a decision-support tool is outlined and discussed. The paper rounds off with an identification of future research opportunities in the area of global product development and decision-making

Decision Making Processes for Global Product Development - a Case Study

Global Product Development (GPD), outsourcing and offshoring of product development is a widespread phenomenon on today’s global economy, and consequently most engineering manufacturing companies will have to make decisions regarding how to organise their product development activities globally. This paper investigates decision making in the GPD context, partly by summarizing existing literatures and studies in the field, and partly through a case study of decision making processes in a global engineering company. Through interviews a range of GPD decisions were mapped and analysed in order to investigate how decisions are made and which information decisions are based on. The study found that decision making is not always structured, and that prioritised decision making is more dominant than planned decision making. The findings set the stage for further analysis of decision making in GPD, and for development of support tools decision support tools for manager, which are based on empirical evidence and experience

Argumentation and reasoning in design: An empirical analysis of the effects of verbal reasoning on idea value in group idea generation

Reasoning is argumentative and is at the core of design activity and thinking. Understanding the influence of reasoning on the value of ideas is key to support design practice. The paper aims to show the effect of verbal reasoning on the value of ideas. Protocol analyses of four industry cases doing idea generation shows that framing by certainty and deductive reasoning lead to useful incremental ideas while framing by uncertainty and abductive reasoning lead to radical ideas. The paper concludes that the way of framing ideas is indicative of how ideas add value to on-going design processes

An Experimental Study of Reasoning in Design: Testing the Pattern of Reasoning in Conceptual Design

Design is understood as an ill-defined process, hence no clear operators are defined. Therefore, understanding reasoning in design activity is fundamental for building AI or other design support tools. Design is intentional, purposive and goal-seeking and involves many forms of mental activity, relying on reasoning processes both in individuals and groups. Therefore, studying the role reasoning plays in design is critical to understand how design takes place (Rittel 1987). Roozenburg’s (1993) model for reasoning in design, proposes that innovative abductive reasoning is key in design and required to develop innovative ideas

A model for reusing service knowledge based on an empirical case

The reuse of knowledge and information arising from the different phases of a product’s lifecycle is crucial for a company in order to achieve competitive advantage. This paper describes a case study from the oil industry investigating the transfer of knowledge within the service phase and also between the service and design phases. Interviews with engineering designers and service engineers were conducted. Knowledge arising from servicing the drilling equipment that was identified as relevant for service engineers was compared to that relevant for engineering designers. Furthermore, the mechanisms involved in the transfer of knowledge between service and design were investigated. Knowledge about changes, issues and improvements generated during service was found to be relevant to both groups; however, engineering designers were interested in knowledge of equipment at a component level whilst service engineers were more interested in obtaining an overview of the systems. The study showed that communication between the departments consisted prevalently of the service engineers pushing knowledge and information to the engineering designers. The reusing service knowledge (RSK) model is proposed based upon the findings and the understanding from a general framework for developing a knowledge management strategy. Additionally, the initial model was revised to explicitly address the factors that emerged from the case study. The RSK model was developed based on a case study from a customised industry; however, previous studies indicated that similar issues are also of relevance to a variant design industry