Produktentwicklung in der Luftfahrtindustrie mit agilen Vorgehensmodellen – Eine explorative Analyse kontextspezifischer Einflussgrößen und Diskussion resilienzrelevanter Implikationen

This dissertation examines the extent to which agile process models can be meaningfully integrated into product development in the aerospace industry, considering sector-specific contextual conditions. Building on this analysis, a resilience perspective is employed to discuss the resulting implications for integrating agile approaches.

A systematic literature review shows that, despite numerous concepts and publications on agility, comprehensive and empirically grounded studies remain scarce, particularly in the safety-critical aerospace industry. The implementation of agile methods remains challenging across industries, especially in regulated sectors, where theoretical approaches and practical application often diverge. To address this gap, the dissertation analyses contextual factors and conditions crucial to the meaningful integration of agile methods into aerospace product development.

The study adopts a holistic perspective encompassing formal regulatory requirements, existing agile and traditional approaches, and context-specific expert interviews. A qualitative-explorative research design was applied. Twelve expert interviews, conducted in two cycles, systematically contrast agile and traditional project contexts. The interviews were analysed using Mayring’s deductive category application method to identify structures, patterns, and key differences, providing a basis for sector-specific solutions.

The findings indicate that agile methods are fundamentally compatible with aerospace product development. Their integration is feasible and beneficial, but currently occurs mainly in hybrid and subordinate forms. Organizational and cultural factors, particularly leadership, emerge as key drivers. Product-related constraints, such as inherent risks, do limit the freedom of the design in development processes but do not fundamentally impede agile approaches. The study suggests that mechanisms for leveraging agile methods in physical-product development are also applicable in aerospace industry. Finally, a theoretically and empirically grounded model and implications for integrating agile methods in aerospace industry are presented. These implications are examined from a resilience perspective and contextualized regarding their relevance and potential contribution to resilience in product development. The analysis indicates that they primarily address organisations’ adaptive and coping-related capabilities.

The results offer impulses for further research in regulated sectors, contribute to the development of existing frameworks, and enhance the understanding of organizational transformation.