Agile Product Development
Our introductory course about Agile product development lets you experience the basic mechanisms of Agile for hardware during a simulated product development project – without prior knowledge about engineering tools.
Increased competitive pressure, shorter development cycles and changing customer needs require new approaches in the development of physical products. Agile is a well-known approach from software development to deal with these challenges in a flexible way. However, due to the fundamental differences between hardware & software, these methods cannot be directly transferred to the physical domain. We designed an introductory course that uses a development task with a game-based approach. It shows how agile principles can be applied to the development of physical products.
During the course, the basic mechanisms and methods of Agile are first explained theoretically. Then, in groups of 3 - 4 people, an agile development project is simulated using a game-based approach. By using selected software & hardware tools (e.g., laser cutter, a simplified programming interface & CAD), our simulation realistically reflects the challenges of Agile hardware development without assuming any special prior knowledge. In this way, the principles of Agile are made tangible in application. Case studies from industry & research conclude the introductory course.
The course has been subject of education and research.
