Exploring the challenges in hardware development projects using Agile: a literature review of challenges and research opportunities
Marc Berry, Venkat Allada · Australian Journal of Multi-Disciplinary Engineering · 2025
The adoption of hybrid Agile models has accelerated as organisations seek to balance the flexibility of Agile methods with the governance rigour of traditional project management. Despite the growing body of literature, the challenges of implementing such models in hardware-intensive environments remain undertheorized and insufficiently validated through empirical evidence. Research on hybrid adoption in hardware development through 56 studies shows four challenges: integration complexity, cultural opposition, scaling difficulties, and physicality constraints. The case studies of Walmart, General Electric, JP Morgan Chase, and Ford demonstrate how Agile’s iterative approach clashed with the hardware’s sequential nature, which created integration problems and managerial doubts and prevented project expansion. Current research predominantly depends on small-scale qualitative case studies that produce limited generalisability and insufficient empirical evidence. This review establishes four research questions focusing on integration methods, cultural fit, scalability, and physicality strategy constraints to advance both theoretical knowledge and practical implementation.