Enabling product development success at analyticon instruments
How AOE Strengthened Product Development at analyticon instruments GmbH with Agile Coaching
Challenge:
Lack of role clarity, strong time-to-market pressure, and a fragmented team structure jeopardized project stability and required structured, neutral coaching.
Outcome:
Through targeted observation, participatory workshops, and continuous coaching, the development team gained clarity of vision, stronger accountability, and renewed confidence.
Outcomes
Intro
analyticon instruments gmbh, part of the French Groupe Physitek, set out to develop its first proprietary, highly specialized analysis device: a mobile X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. This was an ambitious undertaking in a highly competitive market environment. AOE was already on board as a technology partner.
To support product development not only technically but also organizationally, the project was accompanied by an experienced Agile Coach—aimed at fostering structure, accountability, and collaboration.
Challenge
With the goal of bringing a proprietary device to market readiness, analyticon entered uncharted territory. Until then, the company had mainly operated in the “reselling and service” business. Developing its own product was therefore a challenge not only for the team but for the entire organization.
Proven structures, routines, and responsibilities for integrated product development were missing. Initial tensions revealed: sustainable progress required a shared vision and a methodological structure that better aligned collaboration, accountability, and technical quality.
Solution
AOE responded with a combined consulting and coaching approach:
- Observational analysis: The Agile Coach first joined meetings such as refinements and reviews without intervening directly. Instead, targeted questions were asked to stimulate reflection and reveal systemic patterns.
- Realignment workshop: A joint workshop clarified roles, responsibilities, and decision-making paths. Who is accountable for what? How do requirements move through the system? Who needs to be involved when?
- Role clarity & ownership: A key insight was the absence of a true Product Owner. The managing director actively assumed this role and dedicated a fixed day per week to the product. He is supported by a proxy product owner to ensure prioritization and stabilize the flow of information between the team and management.
- Continuous support: Through focused retrospectives, sparring, and organizational coaching, the team was gradually stabilized—not through operational micromanagement, but within a clear framework.
Quotes
The support provided by an agile coach during the project resulted in a new clarity in our distribution of roles. This was a decisive factor in the success of the project, particularly in terms of software development. In collaboration with a proxy product owner provided by AOE, I was able to take on the role of product owner.
Through this guidance, we were able to gradually build trust, structure, and genuine co-creation – and together with the client, create an environment where agile collaboration was not only possible but actively embraced.
I didn’t start with a predefined concept, but only with questions at first. This deliberate distance made it possible to develop a sustainable collaboration model together with the team and the client. Not agility for agility’s sake, but because in this context it was the only reasonable answer.
Business benefits
Management Summary
Building product development capabilities in a complex, production-oriented environment is not a standard task. With a well-designed coaching approach, AOE helped analyticon instruments gmbh to clarify roles and reframe collaboration. The decisive factor was not the introduction of a framework, but enabling all stakeholders for co-creation. The result: a re-motivated team, fit-for-purpose processes, and a device that successfully reached market readiness.
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