| dc.description.abstract | Agile product development has been a model of choice for product development in a changing market such as in robotics. This study focuses on determining the most appropriate product development model for robotic product development from a theoretical perspective. Implementing it into a case study and observing the changes required to better fit the model and identifying its suitability for robotic product development.
Here, the Agile- Concurrent hybrid was found to be a novel approach that reduces rework, improves communication, while encouraging early detection of issues. Thereafter, a case study was done on by implementing this model in robotic product development. A cross-functional team of eleven members were formed. Slack proved to be a useful tool to communicate within the team. Here the model was identified to have a significant workload during periods where two development phases interacted. Hence, the Kanban tool was implemented on top of the Agile-Concurrent hybrid to better focus on the tasks at hand. Sprint times were also reduced so that more evaluations were carried out during a shorter period of time. However, with the teams' incentive to create an overall better product the cost of the product was overlooked which later became a problem. Thus, a cost model was also researched for implementation as an add-on to the existing model.
A total of 18 concepts were developed progressively over an eight week period. The model displaced accelerated product development with a clear convergence in design changes. The survey carried out at the end of the research verified the studies' findings where the team agreed that the model reduced rework and overall delivered a better quality product at a reduced cost. | |