Agile-Concurrent hybrid: A framework for concurrent product development using Scrum

Abstract

Agile development became very popular at the beginning of the 21st century when the Manifesto for Agile Software Development was released. Since then, it has been predominant in the software industry and has been increasingly transferred to the development of physical products due to its great success. There are many studies on Agile-Stage-Gate hybrids that combine agile Scrum and the traditional Stage-Gate model, however no research has been found that addresses a direct integration of Scrum into a concurrent product development model in a similar way. In this paper, we therefore examine the possibility of introducing Scrum into the concurrent product development and propose a Scrum framework for an Agile-Concurrent hybrid. We propose that the framework for concurrent development remains unchanged: the stages overlap and the track-and-loop approach is preserved, while Scrum is proposed for the execution of day-to-day work. The main advantage of the proposed hybrid is that after each iteration the customer reviews the results of an entire loop, not just of one stage, which enables a broader understanding of the progress and facilitates a more extensive feedback. A quicker resolution of discrepancies, and a faster and more effective response to change is thus ensured. In the paper, the needed organizational changes and potential implementation issues are also discussed.

A New Product Development Model for SMEs: Introducing Agility to the Plan-Driven Concurrent Product Development Approach

“…It preserves the standard company organization, typical of concurrent product development in SME and therefore does not require high financial and non-financial investments related to an extensive company reorganization. In other existing hybrids, typical scrum roles and artifacts are adopted (e.g., [13,44,45]), which requires the employment of agile experts and extensive training of employees. In such hybrids, the hierarchy structures also need to be adopted, which can lead to resistance of employees and skepticism of top management [61].…”

“…Furthermore, in the proposed model, agile iterations are executed within concurrent product development loops, which enables a broader insight into the project progress and timely detection of potential discrepancies between different functional departments. Similar to the agile-concurrent hybrid [13], the protocept is more comprehensive, as it combines the progress of three consecutive stages and therefore allows for more extensive feedback from the customer.…”

“…As a first attempt to combine scrum with a concurrent product development model, Žužek et al presented a conceptual agile-concurrent hybrid [13]. They propose that concurrent product development framework remains unchanged (stages overlap, the track-and-loop approach is preserved, etc.…”

“…The proposed agile-concurrent product development model for SMEs takes on the philosophy behind the existing hybrids (agile-stage-gate hybrid [45], IVPM2 [42], agileconcurrent hybrid [13], etc.) that preserve traditional approaches on the strategic management level while introducing agility on the execution level.…”

“…An upgrade of traditional sequential models represents the concurrent product development model [12]. In concurrent development, the development stages overlap, which facilitates collaboration and information sharing, and therefore enables more efficient product development [13].…”