Stage Gate Project Management – What It Is & How It Works
Project management is a very effective and efficient way to deliver a product. It helps keep everything in check and efficient, rather than having all the work done at once – which can lead to delays or poor results. The key to success with any project is ensuring that everyone involved has their part of the schedule and tasks completed on time. The stage-gate process is designed around this idea, so it’s easy to see why businesses could use this methodology.
What is stage-gate project management?
Stage gate project management is a highly structured approach to managing complex projects. The approach is based on the idea that the best way to manage a project is to identify its critical path, determine each step along it and assign resources accordingly.
It aims to ensure that all tasks are completed in order, from initiation through execution, so that nothing goes wrong and if it does, it can be handled quickly. This is accomplished by assigning tasks in a specific order and tracking the progress on each task as you move through the whole project.
How does it work?
It works best when multiple teams are working together on the same project. Each team has its responsibilities and milestones, which they need to meet to deliver their part of the solution. The process begins with an idea for an application or product. The stage gate process helps organize how those ideas develop into something real.
The stages are:
- Ideation – This is where you come up with all the ideas for possible applications or products. The goal here is not just to create an application but also to find out what customers want and how they want it delivered. It’s important to define your target audience so you can find out what they want while they still want it.
- Scope – Once you have defined your target audience and figured out which features and functionality you will include in your application, it’s time to determine how many people need access and how much data each user will require. It includes identifying specific requirements for your users, such as minimum system requirements or browser compatibility issues.
- Design – The design stage focuses on defining what needs to be built and how you will use it.
- Develop – The development stage is where the team creates a detailed production schedule and cost estimate for all major activities. The process includes developing plans for testing prototypes or building new equipment models before they are built.
- Scale – During this stage, the team assembles all parts necessary for testing or manufacturing their products or systems at scale (meaning using mass quantities of materials). They also begin designing any packaging used when delivering parts to customers who will use them in production.
- Launch – The launch stage begins once everything has been made ready for shipment or distribution.
Why use Stage-Gate Project Management?
The benefits of Stage-Gate project management include:
- Reduced risk – Projects are more likely to deliver on time and within budget if they follow a well-defined plan. It means fewer surprises at the end of the project when funds are being spent on something you did not originally plan for.
- Better quality – A structured approach to planning ensures that resources are used efficiently, reducing waste and improving quality throughout the life of a project.
- Improved collaboration – A well-defined plan will help teams work together more effectively at all project stages, making it easier for them to coordinate their efforts as they progress towards completion.
A big part of the reason the stage-gate approach is so effective is that it considers the factors that are typically out of project managers’ control. It acknowledges that there will always be uncertainty in a project and offers a system of testing and analysis to mitigate risk before moving forward with a project. The system ensures that every new idea has metrics to track and where you can make progress if the results are falling short of expectations.