Agile in Waterfall : Improving the Flexibility of Product Development
Loitto, Sammy (2012)
Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu
2012
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2012092813975
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2012092813975
Tiivistelmä
This Thesis concentrates on improving the existing Waterfall based product development model used in the case company, to meet the changing needs of product development. Product development is more and more based on standardized and open source components and competition in any industry has increased as the entry barriers has been lowered. Therefore adjustments were needed to enhance the flexibility of product development and shorten the time to market for new products and features.
The research approach applied in this study is action research. The model development is done in iterations, in two action research cycles. The data used for the development of the model are collected in the interviews, discussions, a brainstorming session, and a Kaizen workshop in the case company. The workshop participants were selected to get a broad perspective with people from different departments, including product business management, project office, quality management, system architects and system engineering. Altogether 21 persons give their view on product development and the new model creation.
The model development is done by creating and verifying two prototypes, Prototype 1 and 2, which were developed in several workshops (Workshop 1-4) with subject matter experts and key stakeholders. The prototypes and verification of the prototypes led to the proposal of the final model to the case company. The outcome of the Thesis is a proposal for a new product development model based on Agile development principles, combined with the required tools to meet the targeted levels of quality and management visibility applied in the case company.
The research approach applied in this study is action research. The model development is done in iterations, in two action research cycles. The data used for the development of the model are collected in the interviews, discussions, a brainstorming session, and a Kaizen workshop in the case company. The workshop participants were selected to get a broad perspective with people from different departments, including product business management, project office, quality management, system architects and system engineering. Altogether 21 persons give their view on product development and the new model creation.
The model development is done by creating and verifying two prototypes, Prototype 1 and 2, which were developed in several workshops (Workshop 1-4) with subject matter experts and key stakeholders. The prototypes and verification of the prototypes led to the proposal of the final model to the case company. The outcome of the Thesis is a proposal for a new product development model based on Agile development principles, combined with the required tools to meet the targeted levels of quality and management visibility applied in the case company.