- Success Story
Factory-X: Effective Collaboration in a Complex Consortium Project
600 people, over 50 consortium partners involved and only 2.5 years: Factory-X is a prime example of how to build an effective, agile collaboration model.
Factory-X: The beacon project to create a digital ecosystem in mechanical engineering
The Factory-X consortium project is the beacon project in the Manufacturing-X initiative funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology for the digitalization and implementation of Industry 4.0 in plant and mechanical engineering. The aim is to establish an open and collaborative data ecosystem through which factory equipment suppliers and operators can exchange data from the entire production and supply chain – securely, confidently and efficiently. This makes Factory-X an indirect successor to the Catena-X project, which was also funded by the federal government and pursued a very similar goal, but focused on the automotive industry.
The Factory-X consortium comprises 47 partners and 10 additional associated partners from commercial enterprises, research institutes and associations under the leadership of Siemens and SAP. By summer 2026, a total of 600 people will be working on 11 different use cases relating to the secure, cross-partner use of data. These include software solutions for measuring the CO2 footprint, improving processes on the shop floor and improving the traceability of supply chains.
When different cultures collide
The greatest strength of the Factory-X consortium also harbors one of the greatest risks: On the one hand, the large number of stakeholders involved guarantees in-depth expertise and broad acceptance of the project results. On the other hand, this poses major challenges for day-to-day team working.
Most of the 600 people involved were strangers to each other before the start of the project, and most of the team working took place remotely from the outset – difficult conditions for close collaboration in a spirit of trust. Especially so as everyone involved was used to different styles of working from their respective parent companies. While some were accustomed to a classic hierarchical way of working based on the waterfall model, others worked in their companies following agile project structures – and expected the same from their work for Factory-X.
Time matters: Building structures under time and results pressure
With a limited timeframe of two and a half years, Factory-X has to deliver results quickly. Accordingly, there were only a few weeks to design the process and organizational structure – too little time for a detailed value stream analysis, as we would usually recommend.
A value stream analysis examines how work packages and processes flow through the organization, which people possessing which skills are involved at each point in time, and the value that the individual work packages ultimately create for the project. Lean processes are designed informed by the results of this analysis, involving people at exactly the right point in the process across team, department and, if necessary, company boundaries. The focus is uncompromisingly on value generation.
“We had to develop a draft for the process and organizational structure from the project description of the application process within just a few weeks.”
Roland Rosen
Project Manager Factory-X (Siemens)
One size does not fit all: Agility as a success factor in an uncertain environment
The tight schedule, the large number of different stakeholders and the unpredictable project environment meant that our MHP team opted for a scaled, agile approach to team working. Similar to the Catena-X project, the Factory-X cooperation model is based on classic elements and best practices of agile project structures. This includes:
- Short development cycles (iterations) to be able to react quickly to changing requirements in a dynamic environment
- Self-organized, cross-functional teams with responsibility for an independent deliverable
- Introduction of a clear “Definition of Ready” and “Definition of Done” as well as associated quality criteria for acceptance
- Regular backlog refinements to ensure that all team members know the tasks that are due next
The benefits of this approach are self-evident: The short iteration cycles mean that structures can be repeatedly re-evaluated and adapted at short notice. At the same time, it is only a short time before the newly formed teams celebrate their first successes – a motivational factor not be underestimated and therefore also a success factor for the further course of the project.
A sneak peek behind the scenes: The MHP approach in detail
The MHP collaboration approach for Factory-X combines best practices of executing scaled-agile frameworks – such as guidelines for defining roles or setting quality criteria – with the business agility model. This model divides the various tasks within a project into three approaches. At Factory-X these are:
- Operational implementation
The tasks within the teams (tasks) are considered in the cycle of 2-week sprints. - Cross-team coordination
Cross-team tasks (features) are considered in a 3-month cycle - Strategic level
Overarching strategic policy issues and decisions
This subdivision gives everyone involved a better overview of the overall project. Dependencies become clearly apparent, which both facilitates prioritization of individual tasks and ensures regular exchange of information between the project stakeholders.
“After generally positive experiences with the use of agile project development methods in Catena-X, it quickly became clear to me that agile principles were the way to go for Factory-X.”
Roland Rosen
Project Manager Factory-X (Siemens)
Milestones on the way to an agile collaboration model
Any approach is only as good as how it is implemented in practice. The following measures were essential for our collaboration model at Factory-X to become a real success:
- Introduction of agile collaboration tools
Agile project management tools such as JIRA, Agile Hive and Confluence were introduced on our recommendation and under our guidance. This facilitates constant communication between team members and guarantees clean documentation of work results. - Definition of key roles
“People over processes and tools”: Agile organizations are always focused on the people involved. For this reason, it was essential for us to clearly define the key roles of the product owner and the scrum master by means of detailed role descriptions – and to support these people in their new roles. We gave all those involved the necessary know-how about agile working methods and the use of JIRA and the other tools during regular enablement sessions to help them manage their respective teams accordingly. - Transparent communication
Organizational design was a topic that was given the space it needed right from the outset of the project. MHP also got itself involved in consortium meetings to explain our approach. This ensured broad acceptance from the very earliest stages.
“The consistent support in the form of Q&A sessions, Scrum-of-Scrum sessions and the combination of team feedback with subsequent guidance on specifically how to implement agile techniques – each with the knowledgeable support of MHP – has enabled us to move forward amazingly quickly and effectively for such a complex project.”
Silke Huesmann
Project Manager Factory-X (SAP)
Agile structures for successful collaboration
Launched in April 2024, Factory-X has an agile collaboration model that enables the efficient coordination of over 50 partner companies from IT and mechanical engineering, due in no small part to our work. This created the basic building blocks for achieving the project’s ambitious goals.
A feature of many projects is a wide gap between planning and reality. Factory-X, on the other hand, was able to present tangible results after each planning interval. And not just within the project: Demos presented at the HMI and other trade fairs have already provided the public with the first impressive evidence of the successful cooperation within the project.
“In a project with so many project partners and so many corporate cultures, structures cannot be conjured up overnight. We have managed to improve processes and workflows at Factory-X from planning interval to planning interval.”
Silke Huesmann
Project Manager Factory-X (SAP)
