Industries that have used more traditional frameworks for managing their projects are Increasingly looking to Agile to improve their project delivery. Management and project practitioners have embraced the fundamental advantages that Agile brings which include:
- More frequent delivery
- Early collection of feedback
- Continuous improvement
- Quicker response to market changes
- Flexibility for change
Agile is increasingly becoming a modern business approach in an ever increasingly competitive market place. Even the more traditional industries such as construction, engineering, pharmaceutical and aerospace are adopting Agile practices in order to compete with competitors further into the 21st century.
Agile in Construction Management
Applying Agile principles in construction management has shown us that there is significant improvement in operational transparency, resource utilisation and communication.
The Agile philosophy is best suited to the planning, designing and pre-construction phase of a build where rough construction has not yet started. Through the sketches, design and site plans there is opportunity for prompt customer feedback enhancing communication with key stakeholders.
On of the key challenges in the construction industry is the high amount of complexity. Because of this, tracking the processes from concept to execution can result in inefficiencies and at worst chaos. An Agile tool that provides better visualisation at each step of the workflow is the Kanban board. The Kanban board allows teams to visualise every step of the workflow. It will also allow quick identification of bottle necks which can streamline processes, eliminate waste and react promptly to emerging issues.
Kanban boards also bring a level of transparency to the construction industry helping to bridge the gap between planning and execution. This is aided by interconnected Kanban boards which bring together the concept of creating plans on multiple levels. The interconnectedness brings together project milestones with the actual work.
This can be done by introducing strategic and team Kanban boards. By introducing this breaks down large tasks into smaller work packages that connects them with the teams responsible for further consideration and delivery.
Agile in Engineering
Within engineering the project life cycle is linear and progresses through several phases. This process is represented by the V Cycle as shown below in Figure 1. The left side entails concept design whilst the right side encompasses validation and further maintenance.
Figure 1
Agile becomes necessary as the speed of products coming to market increases. Engineering companies need to innovate continuously in order to provide their clients with updates and innovative products. They need to be adaptive and be flexible enough to pivot in order to remain competitive in the marketplace. Agile engineering focuses on breaking down batch sizes to smaller work packages with frequent delivery to the client. Using this iterative approach, engineering firms can deliver products that are more in line with consumer expectations.
One of the characteristics of engineering projects is that end users aren’t aware of what they are receiving until the project is delivered. If the output doesn’t sit within the expectations of customers, the project may need to be changed. The cost of change increases through the life of a project, and engineering projects in particular are expensive to alter. Therefore, project teams try and avoid late changes as the costs may be excessive and may place the success of the project in jeopardy.
The Agile solution is to reduce batch sizes and provide value early in the process. An example of how this may be achieved is by producing prototypes that can be presented to stakeholders. This provides an opportunity for early feedback that the team can build into the workflow.
Agile in Aerospace
The aerospace industry is characterised by high complexity, long lead times and a requirement for close team collaboration. The cost of rework is high and the benefit of an Agile methodology is it incorporates frequent feedback loops providing more timely responses to emerging issues.
Another common theme of the aerospace industry is it often struggles to translate its vision into action. This is due in part to its complexity where Gantt charts become overly cluttered and there is a disconnect between what is required and the day-to-day activities of the team. This leads to a lack of clarity around the progress of the project.
The incorporation of Kanban boards goes some way to alleviating this problem. Teams can provide clarity in a highly visual way that maps the workflows from start to finish. It is also an effective way of identifying bottlenecks and issues within work processes so that the necessary actions can be conducted promptly.
Ideally project teams can form an external advisory panel that consists of current or potential new customers. They can engage with the project team during the development of specific products. If this is not possible then they can create proxies consisting of marketing or business development executives.
Agile in the Pharmaceutical Industry
The key characteristics of the pharmaceutical industry is that is heavily regulated and specialised. Well defined processes and long and costly drug development phases may deter project managers from applying Agile principles. However, it is on the rise, due to new and dynamic market conditions. The dynamic and changing customer profiles mean Pharma companies need to search for more opportunities with micro-targeted research. They need to be on the look out for ways to increase the speed to market, lower development costs and increase overall efficiencies.
An area that Agile is transforming the Pharma industry is in research and development. By improving this area of the organisation, products can enter the market early and provide a competitive advantage. One of the downfalls of the Pharma R & D process is the reliance on data only without any exposure to the expectations and needs of their customers. By incorporating Agile practices the goal of Pharma organisations is to support an operational evolution favouring experimentation, customer focus and collaboration.