Chapter 4: Difference between Agile Hardware and Agile Software
In the previous chapter, how markets and global needs can impact your product was discussed.
In this chapter the differences between agile Hardware and Agile Software are explored to allow you understand how to apply agile techniques to a hardware development workflow.
The desire to gain a competitive advantage by releasing products faster has driven the widespread adoption of agile software methodologies. More recently, a push to apply agile techniques into the hardware development process has yielded mixed results, This is because electronic hardware products cannot be tested until complete subassemblies are built, and so important modifications to the product realization process are necessary.
There is growing interest in leveraging AI tools for software code generation, however, while these tools show significant promise, their use for hardware design purposes remains extremely limited potentially due to a lack of publicly available source design materials for the models to ingest. This is an emerging area to monitor and adopt at increasing scale as AI tools for code/design generation improve.
In traditional (waterfall) hardware product development processes, design, and testing activities are often performed in sequence, with each phase completed before the next one begins. This approach results in necessarily longer development cycles and the potential for costly rework if problems are discovered late.
Agile software methodologies, in contrast, enable rapid iteration, ongoing testing, and adaptability to changes. The diagram at the beginning of this chapter shows the conceptual differences between the two methodologies.
The essential elements of agile hardware are as follows:
- Develop a concurrent product development framework supported by a strong NPI process and integrated software-based business systems.
- Deploy working hardware prototypes that incorporate critical validation testing, design for excellence reviews, and appropriate levels of documentation.
- Apply active technical program management to identify, track, and mitigate risk.
- Foster customer collaboration along with an agreed upon formalized preliminary contract.
- Adopt iterative product development cycles that operate within the framework of a strong NPI plan.
A well-structured agile hardware development plan progressively narrows the degrees of freedom for design changes as the project advances towards product launch. There must be a clear goal, iterative cycles of innovation, and progressive loops of requirements analysis, design, testing, evaluation and refinement.
As shown in the diagram above, product development rarely follows a straight, predictable line of continuous improvement and innovation between concept and scale. You should be prepared for this journey to take several twists and turns and expect that the final shippable product may look quite different from the original envisioned in the initial prototype!
Join us next time for the first part of a practical look at how to apply agile methodologies to your hardware development process.
Sources:
Extracts from the completely revised book Agile Hardware Product Realization (version 4.0) by Michael Keer and David Eden, available from January 2026.
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