Dealing with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA conditions) in product development requires methodologies that utilize change as opportunities, an approach pursued by agile development methodology. While the principles of agile development are established in software design, their application in hardware development remains challenging, particularly regarding the continuous delivery of physical increments. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers technological synergies with agile approaches through tool-free production and greater design freedom. However, current applications remain limited to rapid prototyping and comprehensive frameworks leveraging these synergies are missing. To establish the theoretical basis for agile development of end-use products for AM, this study adapts the twelve principles of the Agile Manifesto specifically for direct manufacturing. Based on a systematic literature analysis, new agile principles are formulated that link technological characteristics of AM with methodological aspects of agile development. Examining the agile principles in the context of direct manufacturing shows that iterative-incremental development leverages AM to deliver frequent, value-adding increments. Realising the full design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) potential requires systematic prioritisation of product features by both customer value and DfAM potential. Early development phases are crucial, as they define the design space for subsequent iterations. The study establishes a theoretical foundation for agile direct manufacturing framework. It is demonstrated how combining agile methodology with AM technology through repeated traversals of development phases and targeted application of DfAM methods realizes a greater proportion of DfAM potential in the final product compared to plan-driven approaches. This contribution provides the methodological groundwork for leveraging synergies between agile development principles and additive manufacturing capabilities in direct manufacturing contexts.      «

Dealing with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA conditions) in product development requires methodologies that utilize change as opportunities, an approach pursued by agile development methodology. While the principles of agile development are established in software design, their application in hardware development remains challenging, particularly regarding the continuous delivery of physical increments. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers technological synergies with agile...     »