Industrial Agility: agile practices without IT jargon
Agility comes from the software world. In industry, the same principles apply, but the practices, vocabulary and tools are different. Here is how it translates into your day-to-day R&D work.
Agility comes from the software world. In industry, the same principles apply, but the practices, vocabulary and tools are different. Here is how it translates into your day-to-day R&D work.
Find a term by its industry name or by its IT agility equivalent.
A working period of a few weeks with a defined objective. The team commits to what it can deliver within that time, produces a concrete result, then moves on to the next cycle.
In industrial R&D, a cycle typically lasts 3 to 4 weeks to account for manufacturing and procurement lead times. Each cycle reduces an identified technical risk. See how Hardware Agility works and R&D early stages.
The meeting where the team selects the objectives for the next cycle. In industry, this planning integrates supplier lead times, test equipment availability and regulatory milestones.
Typical duration: 1 to 2 hours. The team leaves with a clear list of what will be achieved and demonstrated at the end of the cycle.
The meeting where the team shows what was achieved during the cycle: a prototype, a test report, a simulation result, a technology readiness level (TRL) assessment.
No slides: demonstrate real progress. Stakeholders (management, internal client, quality) see actual advancement and can redirect if necessary.
As in Lean: a few minutes standing to synchronise the team and flag the day's blockers. Everyone says what they did, what they will do, and what is blocking them.
For multi-site teams, this sync happens over video. Short and efficient: 10 to 15 minutes maximum.
The moment when the team identifies what worked well and what needs to change. Not an audit, not a blame session: a constructive exchange to improve how the team works together.
Frequency: at the end of each cycle. Duration: 30 minutes to 1 hour.
The set of structured meetings that pace the development: cycle planning, daily sync, milestone review, improvement review. Each practice has a precise objective and a defined format.
In industrial agility, these practices are adapted to field constraints: equipment availability, multi-site presence, quality standards. See how to deploy these practices.
A typical cycle in industrial agility
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A clear, unambiguous description of what will be achieved. In IT agility, needs are framed from the user's perspective (“as a... I want...”). In industry, we define a clear, verifiable technical objective.
The ordered list of project objectives to address, prioritised by project value and development risk. Not a fixed task list: it evolves with each cycle based on results obtained.
In industrial R&D, the backlog incorporates normative requirements, technical risks and supplier constraints. See hybrid Agile + V-model management.
A document or result produced by the team that demonstrates project progression: specification, test report, prototype, feasibility assessment, traceability matrix.
The specification catalyst
The person who centralises decisions on project content, without deciding alone on priorities (decided with domain experts) or on the “how”. In industrial agility, this role naturally aligns with the product manager.
The facilitator
The person who ensures the team moves forward without obstacles: access to test equipment, cross-discipline coordination, supplier dependency arbitration. See our coaching services.
Need help defining these roles in your organisation?
Let's talkA board that makes each objective's progress visible. No complicated tool required.
The medium is optional and adapts to your context:
The tool does not make agility. What matters is that the team has a shared view of progress at all times.
Our adaptation of the well-known Scrum method outside the IT world, with practices and vocabulary tailored to the efficiency required in hardware agility.
SolidScrum integrates constraints specific to industry: supplier lead times, costly prototypes, cross-functional teams, regulatory standards. The team practices described on this page are its building blocks. See agile methods in industry and our training courses.
Our planning and progress tracking tool for measurable objective KPIs. Agile and scalable.
SolidPlan combines visual workflow management with performance indicator tracking. Where frameworks like SAFe add rigidity and require 100+ people, SolidPlan adapts to your team and builds on the tools already present in your organisation.
These questions come up regularly from R&D managers and industrial project leaders.
No. Scrum is a framework designed for software development. Industrial agility borrows its core principles (short cycles, continuous improvement, regular demonstrations) but adapts every practice to hardware R&D constraints: supplier lead times, costly prototypes, cross-functional teams, regulatory standards. This is why we developed SolidScrum.
No. Every IT term has a concrete equivalent in your day-to-day R&D work. A "sprint" is a short cycle, a "retrospective" is an improvement review, a "backlog" is your outstanding work list. This page translates each concept into industry language.
By showing that agile practices are the same as what they already do in firefighting mode: straight to the point, clear objectives, frequent progress checks. Industrial agility turns these reflexes into sustainable practices. No mandatory post-its, no IT jargon, no radical transformation: a pilot project with volunteers is enough to demonstrate the value.
Yes. Start with a pilot project using a few practices (short cycles, milestone reviews, improvement reviews). The team learns on a real project, measures results, then scales up. No need to change everything at once. Budget: 5 to 10k EUR for a pilot team, first results within 3 months.
Yes. Agility is not the absence of process, it is a different way of executing them. Regulatory deliverables (technical files, traceability matrices, validation plans) are produced iteratively instead of being assembled at the end of the project. Compatible with ISO 9001, ISO 13485, GMP, DO-178, EN 9100.
So that people already trained in IT agility within your organisation (IT department, some electronics profiles, external contractors) can find their bearings. We adapt the practices and the core vocabulary, but we keep recognised terms (Scrum Master, Product Owner, SolidScrum) as shared reference points between both worlds.
Training, coaching or a simple conversation - we are here to help