The agile methodology is gaining attention among practitioners and researchers in hardware development. As a new methodology, it is a source of misunderstandings and misinterpretations. This is problematic at the managers' levels as they may hinder its adoption or lead to its impractical implementation and use. This study, therefore, aims to explore the manager's level of understanding of the agile methodology. The study identifies the similarities and differences between the fundamental elements of the agile methodology and the elements mentioned by managers in hardware development. The fundamental elements of the agile methodology are identified based on the elements presented in the Scrum method; the elements mentioned by managers are identified based on ten semi-structured interviews with managers in hardware development. The study shows that the understanding of the agile methodology varies largely among managers. The obtained detailed insights in the managers' level of understanding of the agile methodology could be used to develop appropriate support to facilitate its adoption and implementation.

Originally developed for the software industry, agile development is being applied in the hardware field nowadays as well due to its benefits when having to deal with volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) conditions. However, certain complications arise when applying the concept of agility in the hardware. In this publication, based on the challenges identified by Ovesen in 2012, the current challenges of agile development for hardware are gathered using an embedded design approach, ensuring its actuality based on the latest surveys and empirical data. The current state regarding the challenges is displayed and its interrelations as well as their advancements compared to seven years ago is discussed. Moreover, an attempt to explain the difficulties of applying agile development is given by a hardware-related complexity model.