Full Answer
What is a stage (phase) gate review?
Definition: Stage (Phase) Gate Reviews. A Stage (Phase) Gate Review process is a project management technique used to make go-no-go decisions from one stage (phase) of the project to another.
What is stage-gate®?
Phase review, or Stage-Gate®, is a process with standardized phases. Each phase has a Go/No-Go decision point called tollgate. The tollgate can be an entry point to start the current phase or an exit point to start the next phase (by default in Genius). In Genius Project, tollgates are special deliverables (milestone) present at the end of phases.
What is a gate review?
Consider it as a process of reviewing different portions of a project at different checkpoints, or gates. The gate review may also be referred to by other names including decision gate, toll-gate, gateway and phase gate. A gate review includes the following: Review of the progress: This is a review of the work already completed on the project.
What are end stage Gates?
Stage gates, also called phase gates, end stage reviews, or kill gates, refer to a formal review conducted at prescribed points in the project's life-cycle, as seen in Exhibit 1.
What is a Stage Gate Review in project management?
The phase gate process is a technique that is used to guide a project from conception to launch. It requires a review of each project stage before moving on to the next. In the phase gate review process, specific criteria must be met to determine the success of a phase and the ongoing viability of a project.
What is the purpose of a gate review?
Gate reviews provide management specific points in the project life cycle when further progress entails higher investment and commitment. At the Gate Review the project manager reviews progress made to-date, changes since the last Gate Review, and the plan for the work between this Gate and the subsequent Gate.
What is a stage review?
2) Stage reviews are similar to progress reviews. They occur, mostly, during definition and the aim is to review progress against the plan. Unlike the gate review, the intention is for the project to continue. The review checks current progress and identifies any corrective actions.
What is meant by stage gate?
Meaning of stage-gate in English used to describe a point in a project or plan at which development can be examined and any important changes or decisions relating to costs, resources, profits, etc.
What is the 5 stage gate of project management?
At each of these stages, the possible decisions that can be given are: go (go ahead), kill (must end), hold (on the backburner), and recycle (needs further work before moving ahead).
When should phase gate meetings occur?
There is no hard and fast rule for how many Gate meetings a project should have, or when they should be held. We can say that each project should have at least two Gate Meetings: one between the Planning Phase and the Build Phase and one before the project Closeout.
Why is a stage review important?
When it comes to project management, scheduling a review at every key stage you reach ensures your hard work is not for nothing. After all, most projects fail because they are not reviewed at regular review points throughout the lifecycle of the project.
Why are stage gates important?
The stage-gate approach breaks down large goals into manageable stages. You must complete each phase before any additional resources are applied to the next stage. By doing so, you can focus more clearly on meeting goals, prevent wasting time on projects, enforce discipline, and prevent errors.
What is Agile stage-gate?
Agile Stage-Gate is a variation of Stage-Gate which combines the structure (phases and gates) of the classic Stage-Gate (the one we have been considering in this series) with the self-organized teams and short cycle iterations of Agile methodologies.
What are the stages of Stage-Gate?
What are the stages in the stage-gate model? The standard stages are stage 0: Discovery, Stage 1: Scoping, stage 2: Business plan concept, stage 3: Development, stage 4: Testing and validation, and stage 5: Launch and implementation.
How do you make a stage-gate process?
The traditional Stage-Gate Process or Phase Gate Process has five basic steps after the discovery or the ideation process is completed. These include scoping, building a business case, development, testing, and validation, followed by launch.
What is the first step in a stage-gate process?
Phase 1: Scoping The first phase of the product development process is scoping. During this step the main goal is to evaluate the product and its corresponding market. The researchers must recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the product and what it is going to offer to the potential consumer.
What are the three stages of the reviewing process?
There are three steps to the revision process: revising, editing and proofreading. It is also important to remember that time management is a key factor in the complete process of researching, writing and editing your work.
What should be included in review process?
Your Business Process Review checklist should include these five essential steps:Build an overview of the process flow. ... Create the process flow detail. ... Write the operating procedure. ... Develop a detailed work instruction. ... Have a Plan for Continuous Process Improvement.
What is the outcome of review process?
Possible outcomes of a review Changes to one or more element of the Care and Support / Support Plan required but not to the personal budget (including changes to outcomes and the contingency plan); or. Changes to the Care and Support / Support Plan and personal budget required due to a change in circumstance or need.
How do we prepare a document for review?
5 steps for effective document reviewDevelop thick skin. People may suggest improvements to your writing (and, by implication, improvements to your thinking). ... State your purpose clearly; explain your audience. ... Identify real users. ... Prepare document review questions. ... Make feedback easy.
Why is it important to follow a structure in a gate review?
There is a structure that should be followed during these gate reviews and it is important to follow a structure. Without a structure and the discipline to follow a structure, the gate part of the stage gate process becomes the weakest part of the process and inevitably poor decisions are made or projects are allowed to move onto the next phase that in truth should either be killed off or reverted back through the preceding phase for additional work.
What are deliverables in gate review?
The deliverables are a set of pre-determined criteria that need to be delivered for review during the gate review meeting; these deliverables should include documentation, data, in some cases physical samples and models.
How to be a gatekeeper?
Gatekeeper RULES of ORDER need to be established and enforced (by review meeting chairman). These rules are shown below: 1 Gatekeepers must attend in-person or virtually, or your vote defaults to “CONTINUE”. A proxy vote may be designated. 2 Gatekeepers must review the team presentation before the meeting. 3 Serious concerns must be communicated to teams before the meeting. No “surprise attacks” allowed. 4 No “cross-examination” allowed during team presentations. 5 Gatekeepers cannot require and/or base decisions on information outside of the scope of the stage being reviewed. 6 Decisions must be made in accordance with the criteria for the gate, not on the gatekeeper’s opinions. 7 A final vote must be unanimous. Gatekeepers must be willing to negotiate with other gatekeepers. 8 You can “HOLD” a stage or entire project but you can’t “HOLD” a decision. 9 “CONTINUE” decision means that money and resources are committed for the next phase.
What happens if a project gets the go?
If the project gets the ‘go’ the project can then move into the next development phase and part of the output would be a plan to shows company financial support and commitment, which include resources, timescales for the next phase and the set of deliverables that must be met during the next phase and which will be used at the next gate review to judge the project against.
Can a gatekeeper cross-examine a team?
No “cross-examination” allowed during team presentations. Gatekeepers cannot require and/or base decisions on information outside of the scope of the stage being reviewed. Decisions must be made in accordance with the criteria for the gate, not on the gatekeeper’s opinions. A final vote must be unanimous.
Can you hold a stage?
You can “HOLD” a stage or entire project but you can’t “HOLD” a decision.
Do gatekeepers have to attend in person?
Gatekeepers must attend in-person or virtually , or your vote defaults to “CONTINUE”. A proxy vote may be designated.
What is the stage gate method?
The Stage-Gate® method from Robert G. Cooper is an approach that can be used to make the product development process more effective. From ideation to product launch, it is a blueprint for managing the new product process. With a number of predetermined phases, or stages, each of these involves a set of cross-functional and parallel activities that must be successfully completed prior to obtaining management approval to proceed to the next stage of product development. The entry point to each stage is called: a gate.
How many phases are there in a gate?
Every gate will be positioned under their respective phase (i.e. 3 stages relevant to the review process). Sub-phases can be added but won’t be accounted for in the review process. Though, there are useful for project tracking.
What is a tollgate decision?
Each tollgate marks a decision point whether to carry on the project. This is typically performed by a manager or a steering committee. The decision is based on the information available at the time, including business case, risk analysis, availability of resources (funds, talents, etc.).
How to add success factors to gate?
Open any gate, and under the «Setup» tab click on the «Add» button to add success factors
What is phase review?
A Phase Review process, also referred to as a Stage-Gate® process, is a project management technique, in which an initiative or project (e.g. product development, process improvement, business change, etc.) is divided into phases (or stages) separated by tollgates. Each tollgate marks a decision point whether to carry on the project.
What is stage 3 in product development?
Stage 3: Development: The actual detailed design and development of the new product, along with some product testing work. The deliverable at the end of Stage 3 is an “alpha-tested” or “lab-tested” product. Full production and market launch plans are also developed during this possibly long lasting stage.
What is the first stage of a project?
Stage 1: Scoping: A quick, preliminary investigation and scoping of the project. This stage provides inexpensive information – based largely on research – in an effort to narrow down the project pool before Stage 2.
What is a gate review?from indeed.com
Project gates and gate reviews are a type of project management style, in which there are ample opportunities for communication throughout the project. Consider it as a process of reviewing different portions of a project at different checkpoints, or gates. The gate review may also be referred to by other names including decision gate, toll-gate, gateway and phase gate. A gate review includes the following:
What Is the Phase-Gate Methodology?from smartsheet.com
Phase gate methodology takes a holistic, big-picture overview of product development. It breaks down the overall project into phases. (In Stage-Gate methodology, these phases are called stages ).
How Can Phase Gate Improve Your Business?from smartsheet.com
Because it relies on a road map with clear checkpoints, you can drive any project by controlling costs, minimizing risks, and ensuring quality. Here are some of the many ways that phase gate can improve your business:
What Are the Steps in the Phase-Gate Process?from smartsheet.com
The phase-gate process governs new product development as well as smaller project extensions and simple changes. It consists of a series of phases with gates that determine whether the project is ready to move forward. Each phase contains its own scope, objectives, and activities that lead to deliverables as well as staffing resources and functional responsibilities. Each gate contains the criteria and results that must be met for the project to move to the next phase. Clearing the gate is the entry point to the next phase.
How Is the Phase-Gate Model Used in Project Management?from smartsheet.com
Phase gate gives project managers the flexibility to customize the process for each project rather than a one-size-fits-all methodology. By breaking down chaotic idea generation into manageable steps, phase gate fosters a project management process and discipline that can become the organization's project culture. It works in harmony with business processes and the human factors of project management.
What Is a Gating Item?from smartsheet.com
Gate reviews must have clear and visible criteria to be effective. Gating items spell out the metrics and conditions of performance. They ensure that various departments evaluate the product objectively, individually, and cross-functionally — with operational, realistic, and discriminating data points. Criteria fall into two buckets:
How does phase gate work?from smartsheet.com
The phase-gate process can transform your business, helping you identify new ideas and build them into valuable new products. The effective use of phase gate means you have the data to separate strong products from lesser ideas in your project pipeline, which enables you to focus on your portfolio. You can hold teams accountable for product development and use metrics and profit and loss reports for continuous learning and process improvement. The phase-gate process should be lean, scalable, and adaptable to your organization. Here are some best practices for implementing phase gate at your organization.
What is a gate review?
A gate review is a control point that acts as a go/no go decision point for the work. It’s a formal governance step which provides assurance that the required processes and tasks have been completed, and that it is worth continuing with the project.
Benefits of gate reviews
The benefit of a stage gate is to make sure that the right projects are being worked on. It confirms that in-flight projects are:
The stage gate process explained
Let’s say you work in a predictive environment and you have a defined project lifecycle with key decision points. There are gate reviews to jump through in order to keep your project moving, and your project sponsor very much wants that to happen. No one wants bureaucracy to slow their project down.
The project lifecycle and stages
PRINCE2® requires at least two management stages: one to initiate the project and then however many you need after that to do the rest of the work. Your lifecycle might look a bit different.
Example stage gate process
Each organization may implement a slightly different take on the stage gate approval process depending on your internal best practices. If you are new to the idea or thinking about implementing one for your PMO, here is an example so you can see how it works.
What to cover in a gate review meeting
A stage gate review meeting can be quick and informal or a more formal process, depending on what is being approved and the level of governance required.
How to implement the gate review process
So you want to implement this approach within your PMO? Get the PMO leaders together and agree your expectations and what project teams need to do.
What is a gate review?
Project gates and gate reviews are a type of project management style, in which there are ample opportunities for communication throughout the project. Consider it as a process of reviewing different portions of a project at different checkpoints, or gates. The gate review may also be referred to by other names including decision gate, toll-gate, gateway and phase gate. A gate review includes the following:
Why is it important to do a gate review?
Gate reviews can be an efficient way to monitor each phase in a project. Not only do gate reviews encourage the team to routinely evaluate the work already completed, but they also provide for the opportunity to evaluate upcoming phases of the project. In this article, we discuss gate reviews and how they can be beneficial to managing projects.
What is a stage gate?
A stage gate (sometimes called a phase gate) is a project management technique, ideal for large organizations with projects that involve large teams, multiple departments and numerous stakeholders . Typically, stage gates break up large projects into a series of stages with gates between them, with decision points or stages along the way.
What does the stage gate process look like?
The stage gate process comprises a number of stages, each connected by gates, with each stage designed to collect specific information. Traditionally you will find five distinct phases in the stage gate process, each with a gate in between as the image below shows.
What is stage gate methodology?
Stage gate methodology is built to prevent – or minimize – risk. It allows organizations to determine exactly what the more viable or rewarding opportunities are thanks to its emphasis on information-based decision making. The strength of stage gate methodology is in its simplicity. By taking a big-picture overview of the product development process, tasks can be broken down into individual phases called ‘stages’. Each of these stages are used to collect information or reach certain goals. At the end of each stage, the process is reviewed and decision makers determine whether or not the project can continue to the next phase.
What projects and organizations best suit the stage gate process?
For this reason, stage gates are often used for new product developments, software launches and business-wide changes. In our experience, we have found that stage gates are ideally suited to project portfolio management (PPM) and demand management related projects.
What are the top five benefits of using stage gates?
There are a number of business benefits associated with the phase gate process. Here are the top five:
Why is the stage gate process important?
The stage gate process is useful for guiding employees to work on the right task at the right time. Often, organizations undertake new projects without an appropriate business case or justification, leading to common problems like overspend and vastly increased project scopes.
What is inbuilt review phase?
With its inbuilt review phases, there is ample opportunity to re-deploy resources if a project has not met certain requirements. Ultimately, this means businesses can use their people more productively, while minimizing any needless wastage of resources.
What is a stage gate?
Stage-Gate, also known as Phase Gate, is a widely used project management methodology designed to guide a project from its inception to completion. If you’re familiar with the Waterfall methodology, Stage-Gate is similar in that it’s also a linear process where one stage flows onto the next.
Why is stage gate important?
Since the project’s viability is reviewed at every gate, Stage-Gate® ensures a project only continues if it remains viable. This allows you to more effectively manage your resources – including your time – and allocate them elsewhere if necessary. In conjunction with Mission Control‘s Timesheets this will aid in developing more efficient, successful projects.
What is gate in project management?
The gate is a review and key decision-making part of the project. It’s especially useful for large projects with multiple departments and stakeholders involved. The gate is an opportunity for key stakeholders to review project progress, make decisions about the viability of the project and ultimately, decide whether or not to proceed to the next stage.
What is the first stage of a project?
The very first stage of any project is ideation . This is the brainstorming phase where key stakeholders get together to develop the initial ideas for the project. This stage can involve in-house as well as outside expertise and perspectives.
What is the stage gate process?
The basic premise behind the Stage-Gate process is that a project is broken up into various phases. We discuss each stage in further detail below. Each Stage (or phase) is bookended by a Gate – hence the name.
What is the purpose of the review gate?
At the review (gate) phases of the project, it’s your role as a project manager to ensure the project continues to meet its business rationale. By following Stage-Gate, you can ensure the project goals are always aligned with the overarching objectives and goals for the business.
Why are projects less likely to go off rail?
Due to its structured and staged approach, projects are less likely to go off-rail. With all the checks and balances in place, this means, all concerns are raised before a project reaches the failure stage. As a project manager, what’s better than a successful project?
What is a stage gate?
Stage gates, also called phase gates, end stage reviews, or kill gates, refer to a formal review conducted at prescribed points in the project's life-cycle, as seen in Exhibit 1. The purpose is to determine whether a project has approval to proceed (“Go”), will be terminated (“No Go”), or will be asked to complete specified actions before the gate decision can be made. Organizations that use stage gates typically define which key stakeholders will be present, what the agenda will cover, and what criteria the project must meet prior to gaining a green light.
What is gate review in project management?
A key component of well managed project portfolios is the skilled management of life-cycle stage gate reviews. Prior to deciding on whether to authorize the next stage of the project, astute IT Project Sponsors dialogue with their teams on important business and technical aspects of a project. This interactive session, lead by two skilled facilitators and using the forum format, will draw on the insights of experienced practitioners. After an overview of the session agenda, participants will first identify questions that they think are important at each respective gate review. Next, participants will zero-in on the questions they feel are the most critical for sponsors to ask at each gate review prior to making Go/No Go decisions. Then, the facilitators will lead a debriefing segment. Finally, arrangements will be made to ensure that participants can receive the session output following the conference.
When did Corning start using stage gates?
Product managers at Corning, Inc. formulated their “stage-gate innovation” five-stage process in 1986, making it one of the earliest companies to use formal stage gates in their product development process.