Stage Gate Systems
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Exxon- PIP Product Innovation Process
HP- Phased Review Process
Guiness- NaviGate
others: 3M, Polaroid, Kodak,Rohm and
Haas,ICI,Mobil,Dow Chemical, Asahi
Chemical, P&G, SC JOhnson
Typical 2nd Generation StageGate Process
Stages
• Set of parallel activities
• undertaken by a cross-functional team
• gathers information for the next gate
Gates
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A go/kill decision point with
a set of required deliverables
pre defined evaluation criteria
defined outputs: go/kill/recycle
Stage 1: Discovery
• R&D
• lead user analysis
• strategic planning exercises
– gaps and opportunities in the market
– disruptions
Gate 1: Idea screen- Gentle
screen
• handful of must-meet
and should-meet
criteria
– strategic alignment
– project feasibility
– opportunity size and
attractiveness
– product advantage
– fit to resources and
skills and policies
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Exxon’s PIP:
Strategic fit
Market attractiveness
Technical feasibility
Killer variables
Stage 2: Scoping
• Preliminary market
assessment
• Preliminary technical
assessment
• <= 1 month
• 10-20 person-days of
effort
Gate 2: Second Screen
• Original set of must-meet
and should-meet criteria
• new criteria:
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sales force
customer reaction
“killer variable” presence
simple financial
assessment- payback period
• Reckitt &Colman now
Reckitt-Benckiser:
• “Does the initial
evidence suggest that
the concept can win in
the marketplace?”
3rd Generation Stage-Gate
Process
Stage 2: Building the Business
Case or the critical homework
stage
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Market investigations and research studies
Detailed technical analysis
Detailed financial analysis
Outcome: a business case for the project
– Product definition
– Project justification
– Detailed project plan
Gate 3: Go to development
Last point before heavy spending
• Process audit of Stage 2
• Project evaluation on established criteria
• Financial emphasis
• Review and approval of
– Development plan
– Preliminary operations and marketing plan
• Designation of full team with authority
Stage 3: Development
• Lab tests, in-house
tests, alpha tests
• Deliverables: labtested product
prototype
• In parallel: marketing
and operations
• Deliverables:
– detailed test plans,
launch plans
– Production/operations
plans including
facilities requirements
Deliverables: Updated financial analysis; resolution of
regulatory, legal and patent issues
Gate 4: Go to testing
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Review of development work and process
Match to original definition is checked
Review financial data
Approval of test or validation plans
Review of detailed marketing and
operations plans for executability
Stage 4: Testing and Validation
• Validity of
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Product
Production process
Customer acceptance
Project economics
• In-house product tests
• User or field product trials
• Trial, limited production
or pilot production
• Pre-test market, test
market or trial sell
• Revised business and
financial analysis
Gate 5: Go to launch
• Final kill point
• Audit of process in
stage 4
• Review operations and
marketing plans for
implementation at the
next stage
• Criteria: expected
financial return and
appropriateness of
launch and start-up
operations plans
Stage 5: Launch
• Implementation, fine tuning, success
Post-launch review
• 6-19 months from launch
• Change status from new product to regular
product
• Disband NP team
• Review project and product performance
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Revenues
Costs
Expenditures
Profits
Timing
Learning
What the Stage Gate Process is
not
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Functional, phased review
Rigid
Bureaucratic
Project management
3rd Generation Stage-Gate
systems
Flexibility
RCB’s triage: system change, fasttrack, major
Fuzzy gates
Conditional go-ahead subject to
new information
Fluidity
Overlapping activities
Focus
Portfolio thinking on focus
Facilitation
Key master,process manager, gate
meister, process keeper
Forever green- adaptive
International Paper’s web based
gates; RCB’s “suck-in” externally
developed new ideas
The first stages
Summary of Stage 1 Actions
Gate 3 Deliverables
Stage Gates 1,2,3 Must-Meet
Criteria
Stage Gate 3
Should-Meet
Criteria