Impact, benefits and challenges of agile development – an explorative study on physical products

Companies operate in dynamic global markets and face constant internal and external changes requiring adaptability. Agile methods have emerged as a key approach to enhancing resilience. For manufacturing companies, the question arises whether agile practices, originally developed for software, can be applied to physical product development. To investigate this topic, a cooperate study was conducted that includes 26 semi-structured interviews with representatives from various industry sectors. The findings indicate that agile methods are successfully applied to physical product development, especially in research and development. Benefits include improved communication and team dynamics. However, challenges such as resistance to change and misunderstandings about agility persist, which can often be mitigated through effective expectation management and tailored communication strategies.