IDENTIFICATION AND DESIGN OF PILOT PROJECTS TO IMPLEMENT LEAN DEVELOPMENT

The implementation of philosophies such as lean development requires special conditions and measures. Process improvements and positive effects of changes are difficult to quantify. Pilot projects help to involve employees in earlier stages. In the field of product development such projects allow the a team to be fully involved in all important phases such as process and waste analysis as well as enable the search for improving measures and their execution. Thereby the change is enforced by means of a "self-help approach" that is essential in SMEs that cannot afford staff functions. Therefore, the presented research project examines three companies during their lean development implementation in order to search for methodologies and suggestions for a successful execution of a pilot project. The authors support the companies with their knowledge in the field of lean development, including moderating workshops and discussions, helping throughout the analysis and synthesis phases, and performing an ongoing evaluation. This paper presents a framework for the design of pilot projects based on company context, waste analysis and measure design. Furthermore, it gives an overview of the most influential factors in the design of a pilot project and the first findings from the project.