7PJMN018W - Agile Methods in Manufacturing & Construction Projects

This report critically evaluates the application of agile methods within the manufacturing and construction sectors, particularly in the United Kingdom. It emphasizes the significance of agile approaches in enhancing project delivery and achieving organizational goals. The report explores the construction project lifecycle, highlighting the importance of design, pre-construction, procurement, development, and post-construction phases. It discusses the benefits of applying agility to construction design work, promoting systems thinking for improved work execution, and addressing the challenges of project delays and budget overruns. The analysis covers major agile frameworks like Lean, Scrum, and DSDM, detailing their principles, strengths, and weaknesses. The Lean framework's focus on eliminating waste, delivering quickly, and empowering teams is examined, along with its use in creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The DSDM framework's emphasis on project lifecycle and its core principles are also discussed, providing a comprehensive overview of how agile methods can be effectively implemented in manufacturing and construction environments. Desklib provides solved assignments for students.

Agile Project Management
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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................5
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................5
Why an Agile Approach to Construction?..............................................................................7
Lean Agile Framework....................................................................................................................9
Principles of the Lean Framework.........................................................................................10
Uses of Lean framework........................................................................................................11
Reflection...................................................................................................................................16
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................16
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................17
Books and Journals....................................................................................................................17
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Introduction
Agile project management can be describe as the iterative approach which is effective in order to
deliver a project throughout its life cycle (Ibraimova, Seisenbaeva, and Velikorossov, 2019).It is
essential for an organisation to consider this approach as this help in correctly and accurately
conducting required set of project activities. Through this project can be successfully completed
along with this desired goals could be accomplished. This report includes different types of agile
practices that are helpful for effectively conducting required set of practices. in this different
types of major agile frameworks has been analysed.
MAIN BODY
The primary motive of this report is to demonstrate the effectiveness of agile methods in the
manufacturing and construction based organization in United Kingdom. There are various
purpose are considered by the company manager to utilise the agile methods and frameworks but
in context of the manufacturing and construction industry it can be applied in an appropriate
manner.
In order to fulfil the requirements of the manufacturing and construction organisation, it
is necessary to follow the “construction project lifecycle” so that all the companies can
specifically manage their working operations and enhance the development of their organisation
(Bergmann, and Karwowski, 2018).There are various phases are involved in the Construction
project life such as:-
Construction project lifecycle:-
 Design
 Pre-construction
 Procurement
 Development
 Post-construction
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It is necessary to understand the significance of the construction project lifecycle for the
construction projects, building owners, customers & contractors, it is analysed that every
individuals are on the similar phase regarding the specific issues, when difficulties should be
addressed, or why the overall tasks are completed at specific times during the life cycle of the
project.
Importance of Agile framework
Applying the Agility to the Construction Design Work - Agile is mainly and particularly useful
during the planning, designing & also pre-construction phase purpose, when rough construction
has not even yet begun. The purpose of agile construction groups is to create an adaptive
production system which delivers specific values regularly while remaining adaptable to changes
(Sanchez, Micaelli, and Monticolo, 2019). It is necessary for the companies to apply the
appropriate agile framework in order to design the work in an appropriate manner they strive to
acquire initial client feedback as quickly as possible using drawings, site plans, and other means
to guarantee that demands have been appropriately represented. This allows them to react to
changes early in the investigation that is much less expensive in the construction business than
having to redo afterwards.
Agile can Promote “Systems Thinking” to the Work Execution - As per to maintain the
requirement of the manufacturing and construction industry in the UK, agile framework can
promote the system thinking in order to improve the work execution in the organisation (Ju,
Ferreira, and Wang, 2020). There are various methods of the agile method which promote the
system thinking of the organisation like lean method which is also considered as the main
contractors is to dissolve plans into smaller, more manageable chunks & then gradually enhance
and develop them as projects approach implementation. As per to enhance the thinking system
in the manufacturing and construction industry process , it is necessary for the industry to focus
on specific methods like “The Last Aspect Of the system” (LPS) that is considered as the most
effective method of preparing the exact plans by individuals who are accountable for carrying
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out the task. It can support "systems thinking" rather than "optimal solution," just like any other
Lean/Agile project management strategy. The strategy focuses on "pull planning," in which only
the most important things are addressed. As a consequence, this leads to the formation of a
collective leadership culture.
Why an Agile Approach to Construction?
It is determined that construction is among the most complicated sectors & it frequently
produces items of considerable public importance, thus the issues that occur. Then again,
building projects are notorious for being delayed and over budget. As a result, there is a greater
demand for enhancing coordination, process transparency, and the flexibility to respond to new
situations.
Role of Agile Framework in the Project Management
The Agile project management method was created as an attempt at making agile
development more convenient and efficient, as opposed to a traditional approach. The role of the
agile framework is more in the development of the manufacturing and construction organization.
It has swiftly been becoming the project management industry standard. Agile has been
implemented in some form or another by around 95% of enterprises. At the same time, there is
still a deal of work to be done in order for the profession to mature (IKaim, Härting, and
Reichstein, 2019). Agile's origins may be dated back to 1957: Bernie Dimsdale and Gerald
Weinberg John von Neumann, Herb Jacobs, were producing the software for the IBM &
Motorola at the time, utilizing incremental development approaches. Despite not knowing how to
define the technique they were using, they quickly understood that it differed from Waterfall in a
number of areas.
Types of Agile Framework
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Figure 1, Agile Frameworks, Practices, and Methodologies,
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Lean Agile Framework
The term "lean" effectively conjure up images of renowned combat artist Bruce Lee, who, unlike
typical bodybuilder & Mr. Olympia awardees who bulk up, utilised a distinct kind of strength
training, resulting in the physique that was big and strong but neither bulky nor awkward
(Azanha, Camargo Junior, and Antoniolli, 2017). Similarly, the lean thinking is mainly based on
purpose-driven concepts, with the goal of the creating the strength through a united focus & an
intricately linked production system that maximises performance and effectiveness in order to
meet that goal. There are basic principles are followed by the organisation in order to maintain
this framework in context of the manufacturing and construction organisation.
It includes the basic principles:
 Eliminate the wastage
 Deliver as fast as possible
 Decide as late as possible,
 Amplify learning & build knowledge,
 Empower the team,
 build integrity/quality in, and
Lean framework in construction industry
It is identified that construction industry is mainly representing the “large amount of waste
activities,” that are much higher than typically experienced at the manufacturing plant (Carneiro,
Silva, and Alencar, 2018). Some specific activities are involved in this such as :-
 Excessive material handling
 Conflicts between other contractors
 Design errors
 Conflicts between trades
 Rework
 Ineffective supply chains
Some specific techniques are applied by the organisation in order to maintain the construction
and the delivery system and maintain the service and prioritize the customer value.
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 "Extends from the objectives of a Lean manufacturing system utility & minimise waste—to
particular procedures, or uses them in a unique project lifecycle," according to the Lean
Construction Institute.
 It is impossible to overstate the importance of construction quality control for contractors
(Zavyalova, Sokolov, and Lisovskaya, 2020). BIM software can help with job previewing &
risk mitigation, while simplified design-build approaches, as well as prefabricated and
modular construction methods; can help with scheduling, quality control, and limiting
materials' exposure to detrimental environmental elements like adverse weather.
 "Extends from the goals of a Lean manufacturing system value and minimise waste—to
particular procedures, and uses them in an unique project life cycle," according to the Lean
Construction Association.
 With information methods to help establish and create actionable targets and KPIs,
construction management software keeps busy bridge organizations on the very same page.
Principles of the Lean Framework
Eliminating waste – Through practice application of this framework, manufacturing and
construction industries and appropriately eliminate the waste (Stern, 2017).The phrase "waste" in
the project management environment relates to something that does not bring value to the project
and therefore should be eliminated. Idle time, needless features and flaws are considered as the
specific factors.
Amplify learning and create knowledge - Agile methodologies are described as a continuous
learning experience in Lean. Programmer rarely produces clean code on their first attempt. They
create an improved version of the prior code after detecting and fixing problems. Professionals
gain expertise through solving difficulties and creating code modifications during development.
As a result, enhancing learning is the best strategy for improving the project management
Empower the team -
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Developers should also have the authority to create managerial decision since no one knows their
job better than they do. People may make a plan and stick to it.
Build integrity/quality in-
The software's qualities and the user's perception of it must be in sync. A systems has considered
integrity if a consumer believes it includes all of the necessary features and is simple to use
(Galli and Lopez, 2018). The term "conceptual integrity" refers to the computers architectural, as
well as its usability and suitability for mission. It's easy to handle, adjust & expand.
See the whole-
Instead of focusing on their tiny component of the system, engineers should be in responsible for
overall efficiency of the system. If professionals follow this rule, they will be able to build a
trustworthy system. These essentials encapsulate the Lean methodology perfectly. Its goal is to
provide greater value with less work, money & time.
Uses of Lean framework
The usage of the Lean framework is more in order to improve the performance structure
of the company. It is determined that most of the organizations can use the lean methodology to
create a minimal decent product which is famously known as (MVP). It entails releasing a
product with the suitable number of the specific characteristics to satisfy early adopters (Alkhatib
and Qusef, 2019).The MVP method's goal is to gather and evaluate consumer feedback in order
to determine whether or not customers like service & would like to purchase it. The specific key
in order to making the economically prosperous items understands the customer's behaviors,
tastes, & demands. It is determined that feedback is used by developers to construct a direction
for future improvement. Because of their short life cycles, lean works effectively for tiny, short-
term projects. Because Lean requires continuous input, this strategy is also appropriate if the
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customer can participate in the project realization. Another crucial criterion for Lean adoption is
that the team works in the same office to enable interaction.
Lean principles are generally employed in the various industries, having been successfully
embraced by a large number of industrial organizations such as Nike, Ford, and Intel. Corbis,
Patient Keeper & Xerox are examples of good firms that use Lean methods and research in their
operations.
Agile PM/DSDM
DSDM can be defining as an Agile method that is significant for focusing on the lifecycle of
the project. This refers as the Dynamic Systems Development Method that is effective and
efficient in order to successfully manage different practice (Obradović, Todorović, and
Bushuyev, 2018).This is very helpful framework which is based on four major principles that is
feasibility and business study, functional model and prototype iteration or designing and builds
iteration as well as implementation. All of these principles are significant in order to correctly
and effectively performing practices of the project as well as lead to enhance project activities.
DSDM method was invented in year 1994 and this is very useful for project manage while using
another agile framework. This is helpful for determining the new integrative approaches to
software development needed more governance as well as stricter guidelines. There are different
strength and weakness of DSDM approach that will lead to have major impact on overall
performance as well as productivity of the project management. Strength and weakness are
mention below in detail –
Strength - This is consider as the basic product functionality that is helpful for delivering
rapidly as well as effectively. Through the support of this framework or method project manage
will be able to significantly deliver its products with high quality as well as help in
accomplishing desired goals (Ozornin, Terlyga, and Shulgin, 2019). DSDM is significant in
order to help developer to have an easy access to end users so that they can use it in proper and
accurate manner. This can be consider as the crucial benefits of this agile framework as though
the support of this it will be able to increase user experiences. Another benefit of this method is
the projects are reliably completed on the time duration. This is significant for timely
accomplishment of desired objectives.
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Weakness – There are some weakness of this method that will lead to have crucial major impact
on overall performance as well as productivity of the project. It has been determined that crucial
negative impact of this method is that it is costlier to implement and project manager will require
more cost in order to successfully and effectively implement this method in proper manner
(Nadzri, Kannan, and Malarvizhi, 2021).This cannot be considering as the ideal approach for
small organisation as they will not be able to afford this method. It has been analysing that this
method can be represent as a dramatic as well as disruptive changes in company culture.
Hybrid project management
Hybrid project management can be defined as a method that is combining planning
strategies from traditional project management environment which using agile methodology for
purpose of flexible approach. This approach integration different elements from different
method. There are different types of organisation which hi operating in different environment
and adopting traditional methods that is evolved over a specific time and also comply different
requirement along with broad obligation as well as other required standards. Non agile methods
are including different roles and process like project sponsors, project management office, team
members, project managers, several team leaders. There is some hybrid solution which is using
both method like lean and agile PM/DCM. It is one of important approach which is highly using
in manufacturing and construction industry. Johann Strasser (2020) describe that hybrid Lean
Agile is one of important method which is using optimal strategic blend in business and getting
benefits of lean manufacturing system that ensure smooth flow of production process and also
allow different companies to respond towards changes occur in market and also delivery of
different types of products and service in market. Lean strategies are those strategies which are
reducing cost of manufacturing that leads to increasing competitiveness of company and also for
increasing profit. Agile strategies adopted by companies in manufacturing and construction
industry helps them for purpose of managing different types of fluctuation occur in market. A
hybrid approach provides different types of solution for companies that assist them to overcome
of different challenges.
According to Atour, Johansson, and Tackney (2021), There are different types of agile
and non-agile approaches which is adopted by construction companies. One of its example is
Balfour Beatty which is a construction company and providing different types of construction
facility in different country. It is an infrastructure group is providing construction service,
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