What is Phase-Gate or Stage-Gate?
Phase-Gate or Stage-Gate is a project management model that uses a 5-stage process with 4 review points called ‘gates’. This helps structure and speed up new product development projects.
Each stage consists of activities (the work that must be done) and an integrated analysis (of all the functional activities). These result in the creation of deliverables. Each gate comprises one or more deliverables (resulting from the stage it closes) and criteria (usually both financial and qualitative, organized on a scorecard). Together, these result in an output or decision.
What is the Phase-Gate Process?
Stage-Gate or Phase-Gate (used interchangeably) is a popular Project Management (PM) methodology. Project managers break a project into manageable sections called ‘stages’ or ‘phases’. Completing activities within a stage or phase equates to a deliverable(s). A typical breakdown of these stages might look like:
- Ideation / Discovery
- Concept / Business Case
- Development
- Testing / Validation
- Launch
After each stage, you’ll find a decision point known as a ‘gate’. Here, stakeholders must review the previous stage’s success. This will help them decide whether to continue to the next stage or stop the project altogether, known as a ‘Go/Kill decision’.
Stage-Gate’s structured approach benefits fast-growing businesses that need a reliable, robust process. The same goes for organizations with cross-functional projects and high-growth objectives.
What are SAFe Phase-Gate Milestones?
Scaled Agile Framework or ‘SAFe’ is a popular and comprehensive PM framework. It helps large organizations adopt and then scale Agile methodologies. The structured framework includes several milestones to aid and speed up product development. It is more associated with Agile Methodologies than Phase-Gate. But SAFe milestones can benefit both because businesses can deploy Agile and Phase-Gate in harmony. The main 3 types of milestones are:
- Program Increment (PI) Milestones
At the start of each project or program segment (called an increment), teams must come together to set goals, plan upcoming work, and prioritize activities. Project teams must repeat this process approximately every 8-12 weeks to prepare for the next iteration.
- Fixed-date Milestones
These are non-negotiable dates and times that will impact your project. These are pivotal events or periods in your project development timeline, influenced by external factors or third parties.
- Learning Milestones
When the opportunity to learn presents itself, project teams must take it. Agile methodologies focus on continuous development. So, feedback and insight from customers, users, and stakeholders is vital.
What is Stage-Gate Review in Project Management?
A gate review is an essential step in the Stage-Gate process. Think of the ‘gate’ as a boundary or checkpoint between each stage or phase. At each ‘gate’, stakeholders and project teams must make decisions about progress. This a gate review. Decisions include moving to the next stage or phase, making changes, or killing the project. This process ensures consistent project evaluation. This minimizes risk, increases visibility, and helps project teams focus on strategic alignment.
What’s the Difference Between Stage-Gate and Agile?
Stage-Gate and Agile are both applicable methodologies for project managers, each with pros and cons. Stage-Gate is a simple, straightforward, and easy-to-adopt project management methodology. Some of its benefits include:
- Bringing discipline to your project execution
- Helping to define duties better
- Increasing transparency
- Ensuring there are no missing steps
- Mitigating risks
Stage-Gate’s structured nature means businesses can apply it to most projects.
But the natural innovation process is not a linear one. Thus, Stage-Gate can often be too structured for fast-paced and evolving projects. That’s where Agile comes in.
Agile methodologies allow for change at any stage in the project. The project team starts with a simple project outline and develops functionalities in later versions (called iterations). Unlike Stage-Gate, where teams complete every step before moving forward, Agile prioritizes the delivery of a shippable product after every iteration.
You can use Agile and Stage-Gate methodologies harmoniously. Agile Stage-Gate pairs Stage-Gate’s structured approach with Agile’s adaptability and focus on delivery.
