Elevate the flightpath with agile product development
July 1, 2020
July 1, 2020
The Aerospace and Defense industry faces significant change. Supply chains face increasing volatility, and the industry is seeing a pivot to services as customers’ requirements change. Technology is transforming product design and manufacturing. Ninety-three percent of industry executives agree that emerging technologies have accelerated the pace of innovation over the last three years.
To respond, companies must explore new business models that will address volatility and sustain profitability. This means a new approach to delivering value across the entire product lifecycle. The answer? Agile approaches that support the demands of service-based business models and the rapid creation of new customer-focused features.
Yet many players remain unsure whether agile can be applied to an industry characterized by complex products, with long lifecycles, that must comply with multiple regulatory regimes. These concerns should not prevent aerospace and defense companies from adopting an agile approach. But it must be adapted to the industry’s specific challenges.
Eighty-one percent of aerospace and defense executives agree that the integration of customization and real-time delivery will be key to gaining a competitive advantage in the future. Agile business models help organizations meet these needs by encouraging frequent releases of new features directly to customers.
An agile approach is high frequency, cross-functional, model-based and feature-driven. Product development is ‘operationalized’, engineers are empowered to do their work and goods are delivered just-in-time. Agile approaches’ characteristics contribute to faster, more responsive and higher-value product development:
Aerospace and defense companies can harness agile methods and reap the benefits of doing so. But they need to adapt agile to the industry’s specific needs. Industry concerns about deploying agile center on three areas:
Agile can also benefit developers of reusable components, or platforms who struggle to prioritize the competing needs of their internal customers. Clearly defined priorities can simplify interlock and optimize return on investments in research and development.
Aerospace and defense companies need a culture that encourages change. Starting small and building on success is the way forward:
As aerospace and defense companies confront the challenges of a changing market, they need to reimagine their approach to product and service development. By adopting agile methods, they can break out of their holding patterns and soar to new heights.