The role of requirements and systems engineering in a scaled agile development of cyber-physical systems

Agile methodologies, originally developed for software engineering, have become increasingly popular across industries, including hardware development. However, the adoption of agile frameworks in the development of cyber-physical systems (CPS) poses significant challenges due to the unique constraints of hardware production, regulatory compliance, and multidisciplinary coordination. This short paper investigates the complexities of scaling agile methodologies within CPS development, with particular focus on the interplay between software and hardware requirements engineering, systems engineering, and model-based systems engineering (MBSE). It explores key differences between hardware and software requirements processes, analyzes applicability of prominent scaling frameworks, and discusses their applicability to large-scale CPS projects. Through an analysis of existing literature and case studies, the paper identifies a gap in research on the integration of agile methods, scaling strategies, and requirements engineering in CPS contexts. This research paper presents four research areas aimed at understanding how agile practices can be effectively adapted and scaled across software, and hardware development teams in CPS environments.