From modularity to agile project management: an essay on methods and practices from IT to automobile industries

Abstract:

Abstract

In February 2019, during the presentation of its 2018 financial results, Renault has announced
the launch of the FAST program – “Future-Ready At Scale Transformation”, aiming at
accelerating cost efficiency, among other methods, through the adoption of “agile
methodologies”. As modular strategies and practices, agile methodologies have been
developed within the IT industry, and their migration from IT to automobile industry might not
be as undeviating as it may seem. This essay presents some reflections about the introduction
of Agile Project Management (APM) methods in the automobile industry. In order to do so, the
main principles and practices of these methods are presented and their agency is analyzed
concerning their epistemic, pragmatic and political functions. From this inquiry, some
perspectives to the adoption of APM methods in the auto industry as well as new research
questions and agendas are proposed.

Keywords
Agile methods, Agile Project Management, organization for innovation, agency of
management tools, modularity, IT industry, fractal innovation