Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1335241
60 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2021 by the nature of NPI—fluidity and flexibility are necessary to optimize the design transfer process to manufacturing via the NPI process. Understanding the Objectives of NPI e objective is to have an effective transi- tion from product design to serial manufac- turing where product quality consistency is achieved in the manufacturing environment. e traditional approach to accomplish this has been to use a Waterfall development process. e Waterfall model requires design phases to follow a sequential order, where the proj- ect development team only moves to the next phase of development or testing if the previous step is completed successfully. e inherent consequence of the waterfall is that it has rigid design gate reviews where there is no room for design optimization and flexibility. e adverse impacts consist of making assumptions that a completed phase design review has satisfacto- rily met customer expectations where, in real- ity, the sequential design reviews only confirm that a controlled design review workflow is being followed. At the end of a traditional NPI process, the project documentation will show that a robust workflow was followed during the process—however, there will be minimal interactions with the customer where optimi- zation efforts were not considered during the NPI process. e concept of fluidity and flex- ibility must be considered as part of the NPI process to achieve customer satisfaction excel- lence. is can be achieved by applying the concept of Agile methodologies into the NPI process. The Agile Methodology Agile methodology is a practice that helps continuous iteration of development and testing in the product development process. In this model, development and testing activ- ities are concurrent, unlike the Waterfall model. is process allows more communi- cation between customers, engineers, manag- ers, and testers. is concept is widely used in soware development and has established organizations that have created standards and proven methods for agile development. One of these methods is known as the Agile manifesto [2] . ere are 12 key principles that govern agile development: • Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable soware • Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage • Deliver working soware frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale • Businesspeople and developers must work together daily throughout the project • Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done • e most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation • Working soware is the primary measure of progress • Agile processes promote sustainable development. e sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely • Continuous attention to technical excel- lence and good design enhances agility • Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential • e best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams • At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly ese principles are soware development centric, but they can be applied to most new product introduction processes in manufac- turing environments.