* Department of Industrial Engineering, Iran University of Science & Technology; Tehran, Iran, Email: seyedhoseini@yahoo.com & seyedhosseini@iust.ac.ir
**Department of Industrial Engineering, Payamenoor University, Tehran, Iran, Email: Fekri@iust.ac.ir
***Department of Industrial Engineering, Iran University of Science & Technology; Tehran, Iran, Email: aaliamadi@iust.ac.ir
ABSTRACT
In response to dynamic and turbulent customer needs, shortening the cycle time, technological changes and volatile global markets, agile new product development (NPD) is a focus to manufacturing enterprises. This study aims to identify the critical success factors of agile NPD to help the NPD managers to obtain a better understanding of issues surrounding of agile NPD process and facilitate their decision-making in the conditions of unanticipated changes. As a useful methodology explanatory factor analysis is used for identifying these critical success factors and is based on the results of a study which has done on 264 NPD projects in Iranian manufacturing enterprises. The results of this study shows that among the factors affecting the responsiveness power of the NPD process, 6 most critical ones are identified. These factors are using advanced manufacturing techniques, customer design and development, adaptation to changes and minimizing uncertainty, information–driven and virtual integrated process, market testing and responsiveness, and collaborative relationship and participating management styles.
Keywords: new product development, agility; critical success factors; explanatory factor analysis.