Category Archives: Agile for Hardware

03 Jun

Post-Covid Agile Hardware Development (1/2)

Dirk Meißner, managing partner and founder of CO-Improve Consulting has opted to share his four-step for 'Corona emergency program for development projects' with us. It leverages Agile ways of working so hardware organizations might recover from social-distancing measures smoothly and quickly. Step 1: Project recovery check “Before we can do anything else, we set one day aside to sit down with our clients. We assess together what their most important projects are; why they are... Learn more

26 Mar

Herbert Schönebeck: “Typical mistakes when starting an Agile transformation”

At this year’s upcoming Agile for Hardware conference hosted by Gladwell Academy, Herbert Schönebeck from Co-Improve is planning an interactive workshop where he will offer a deep-dive into the typical problems encountered during an Agile transformation. Expert on Hardware and Agility Herbert describes how he spent “over twenty-five years in various functions within traditional line-organizations, where I was responsible for a wide variety of different projects. In 2017 I made the... Learn more

08 Mar

Partner CO-Improve is ‘a natural fit’ with Gladwell Academy

To build a consultancy firm that embodies values like appreciation and trust. That combines industry, product development and transformation competence. To irreversibly improve – rather, ‘co-improve’ - complex industries that they know inside-out. That was the goal of founder and managing partner Dirk Meissner, some eight years ago in 2012. Three years ago, they added SAFe to the range of improvement frameworks that they practice – and today Gladwell Academy CEO Miranda Goossens... Learn more

17 Dec

Give engineers problems, not instructions

We don’t apply Agile ways to make the simple stuff. We use Agile because what we create is hard. By that, I mean those hardware manufacturers that seek to apply Agile ways of working are usually in complex manufacturing industries: automotive, semiconductors, medical tech. Embracing Agility in such industries is very advisable, and indeed many are attempting this in some way. But it does come with its own manual. Here’s a page from my book. Hardware development comes down to... Learn more

30 Sep

Why bring Agile ideas to Hardware?

The advantages of working Agile have been a revolution for software development - and then for services-oriented businesses too. Why is the world of hardware development now suddenly becoming so eager to follow suit? Because, finally, it can. The promise of Agile is well-known and widely acknowledged. The ability to ‘turn on a dime, for a dime’. The ability to drastically reduce time-to-market. The increased sense of empowerment that pervades all layers of the... Learn more

26 Jun

“Our engineers stumbled on SAFe – and they made it their own.” Jan Vencken, Signify

Lighting brand Signify is big in hardware and software development – understandably so, considering recent software-heavy innovations in lighting solutions. Inevitably, sensible practices from one development type creep into the other at the company. Hence the recent embrace of SAFe by an ambitious group of hardware engineers, and an upcoming presentation that’s bound to raise a few eyebrows. Agile Coach Joris van Doorn is happy to bring along electrical engineer Jan Vencken... Learn more

20 Jun

“SAFe helps to fail-fast-learn-faster in hardware development.”-Tanya Kudchadker, ASML

The experienced ASML Agilists Tanya Kudchadker and Wendy Versteeg are presenting together at the Agile for Hardware event. Here, they prelude on their contribution: applying Agile ways of working to the development of hugely complex lithography machines that cost billions to make. The lithography giant ASML builds tools crucial for semiconductor production: robotized, mobile assembly lines that produce fully formed silicon chips. Because semiconductors are feats of nanotechnology... Learn more

07 Jun

“We handed everyone the Scrum Guide and we started.”-Jan van der Tempel, Ampelmann

We’re excited that triple founder and original thinker Jan van der Tempel will contribute to Agile for Hardware. Here, he takes a moment to give some insight in his journey towards Agile development and his planned case study presentation. The first thing maritime entrepreneur Jan van der Tempel and some forward-thinking colleagues did to introduce Agile principles and processes to his three off-shore businesses, was to give all their co-workers copies of the Scrum Guide for... Learn more

22 May

“We develop our hardware like a start-up, because we are one.”- Daan Geldermans, SKOON

“If established developers want to learn how start-ups design new products these days, come to us,“ says Daan Geldermans. He’s a founder at SKOON, a start-up that’s pioneering in large containerized batteries that can replace diesel generators. “We’re doing everything ourselves, and it gives us exactly the flexible approach that’s so much in demand.” “We’re a young company, started in 2017 to research the business case for battery-powered shipping. We developed the... Learn more

07 May

“Scaling is Scrum’s biggest challenge – but we’re finding ways.” – Arjan Tuinhout, NXP

“I’m not about to ditch old-fashioned project management,“ assures Arjan Tuinhout, senior project manager at the Smart Antenna Solutions product line for NXP, global champion in semiconductors. “But after Scrumming pulled my team through some nasty timeframes, I’m convinced Agile can add to hardware development, too.” “We build high-frequency integrated circuits for products like mobile phones that involve radio emission and reception – a crucial component,... Learn more

02 May

“Everything we do before we bend metal, we can do Agile.” – Robin Yeman, Lockheed Martin

Pioneering Agilist Robin Yeman has been exploring Agility at defense hardware manufacturer Lockheed Martin since 2002. She prefaces her upcoming contribution to the Agile for Hardware conference on 1 July with an offer: “I have several projects I could discuss. How about I give you three options, and readers can choose which one they like?” Vote for the best topic by clicking here! Robin Yeman Her personable demeanor hides a true Agile powerhouse: Lockheed Martin’s... Learn more

01 Apr

“This July 2nd, Agile is spreading beyond software development.”

Ralph Hofman is an experienced consultant in digital transformation. He’s worked with leading industrial manufacturers such as ASML, NXP, JDE and many others. And today, he’s excited. “The Agile way of working has been out of reach for much of the non-software industry for decades. Now, it’s slowly making up to change the history of industry. With this event, we’re bringing it to them.” July 2nd will see the Agile for Hardware event, hosted by Agile training... Learn more

11 Jul

‘Certified Hardware Agilists’ to be trained at Gladwell Academy

Agile for hardware manufacturers? No way, we used to say. The interdependencies involved in physical product development are too rigid; development takes too much time to turn on a dime, we used to say. Until today: consultants Ali Hajou and Davar Azarmi explain why, how and when they will be offering our new course! Upcoming course aims to bring Agile approaches to hardware design and manufacturing “For hardware and other non-software environments, embracing Agile principles and... Learn more