The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 7 letter word BY NUMBERS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
B
Y
N
U
M
B
E
R
S
More clues leading to the result BY NUMBERS
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "produced in simple steps" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case produced in simple steps = by numbers.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.