More about the Stage-Gate^® model

A common purpose of Stage-Gate^® models is to provide a framework for better management of product development projects and to provide correct and relevant information for business decisions. The use of a Stage-Gate^® model also implies that the line organization is actively involved in the project and that the project status is made visible for all project stakeholders. Many different variants of Stage-Gate^® models are used in companies but they are based on the same design and principles.

Described below is one variant of the Stage-Gate^® model that is focused on the chemical industry. Links to more general descriptions and  other information on the Stage-Gate^® model and  can be found in the pages linked to at the end of this page.

A project organization includes:

• A project owner – usually the one who will be responsible for the product or process when the project is completed
• A project manager – one who can manage the project through all of its phases
• A project team – consisting of people with different areas of competence
• One or several gate keepers – persons who are responsible for the gate review and who can terminate the project (make the kill/go decision)

Many aspects have to be considered in each stage and in order to ensure the validity of the proposed activities six functional groups are represented in the project team:

• Business Management, Marketing and Sales; 
• Research and Development; 
• Health, safety and Environmental (HSE); 
• Manufacturing;
• Engineering;
• Legal/intellectual properties. 

It is the responsibility of the project manager to involve people at these functions in the parts of the project where their competence is needed. As a project progresses through different stages the level of activity of different functional groups changes to meet the needs of the project.

Stages and Gates
The following six stages are included in the Stage-Gate^® model:

 
The activities within a stage are directed towards meeting the set deliverables for the next gate review. The project team is responsible for determining how the deliverables are to be met, and who the responsible team members should be.

Gate review

The aims of a Gate review are to find an agreement between the project leader and the gatekeepers on the deliverables and also to make a review of the gate criteria.

A set of Killer variables are designed for each gate. If these aren’t met during the gate review, the project will not pass the gate and a decision  on how to continue has to be made. A stage can therefore include criteria that were not fulfilled in the prior Gate review.

When a gate is passed deliverables based on the set criteria for the next Gate are decided upon.

The criteria used in the gate review involve aspects such as

• strategic fit,
• market attractiveness,
• competitive advantage,
• patent/legal issues
• technical feasibility
• regulatory aspect of health, safety and environment
• supply and market entrance
• financial attractiveness

Post-project work
The product and process development part of the project is finalized after gate 5. The project is completed when the financial goals are fulfilled and gate 6 is passed.

After the product achieves commercialization it is important that a post-project review is completed by the project manager to extract the experiences from the project. The good and bad things in the management of the project and all comments and recommendations for improvements are documented in order to improve the process in future projects. These are presented on the post-project review meeting.

More information can be found e.g. at:
Stage-Gate Inc
New Product Dynamics
Innovation Management U3.

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