Criticism of Stage-Gate®

Are there problems with the Stage-Gate® process?

Yes, Stage-Gate® presents two challenges

In general, the process works very well, and many companies use Stage-Gate. There are two major, inherent challenges, however:

Correctly designing the process
Effectively implementing it.

If a company works with us, we can assist them in avoiding these problems.

1: Correctly designing the Stage-Gate® process

Many companies don't design their process right. Therefore it doesn't help them much. It may even hurt them by adding bureaucracy.
The Stage-Gate® concept appears relatively simple. But it is not as easy as it looks. Many companies have implemented Stage-Gate® on their own and acquired a process. Often, however, the quality of the process is substandard.
A high quality process is the number one cornerstone of high new product performance (See article about best practices).

A high quality new product process demands...

emphasis on up-front homework - both market and technical assessments - before projects move into the development phase;
sharp, early product definition, before development work begins;
tough Go/Kill decision points in the process where projects really do get killed;
a focus on quality of execution where activities in new product projects are carried out in a quality fashion;
a complete and thorough process where every needed activity is carried out - no hasty corner cutting; and finally
a flexible process where stages and decision points can be skipped or combined, as dictated by the nature and risk of the project.

Note that merely having a formal new product process in place has no effect on performance.

Rather, the nature of the process - a high quality process that incorporates the ingredients listed above – is what makes the difference.

2: Effective implementation of Stage-Gate®

There is clear evidence that Stage-Gate® pays off (see our article on best practices). But it takes a long time to implement, often several years. It is not a quick fix.
The easy part is developing and documenting the process. The real challenge is to change the behavior of the individuals in the organization.

Read more on implementation in chapter 10 of our book Winning at New Products.