Single approaches for complexity management in product development: An empirical research

Increasing complexity in product development has been one of the biggest issues during the last years. Companies in many different marketplaces are confronted with technology innovation, changing customer requirements, globalization of markets and competition as well as market uncertainty. In today’s highly competitive environment, it is fundamental to bring new products quickly and with customers’ individual settings to market. Product development is one of the most complex tasks and uncertain processes in the company and its complexity have the biggest influence on a company’s complexity. Managing a company’s complexity is a strategic issue to be competitive. In literature, a vast number of different single approaches for managing complexity are described. To compare literature findings with the practice, an empirical research was conducted in the German manufacturing industry. The data was collected through questionnaires between 2015 and 2016. An empirical research regarding specific approaches for managing complexity in product development does not exist yet. Covering this research gap is the purpose of this paper.