“Stage gates,” “phase gates,” and “kill points” are essentially interchangeable terms referring to critical checkpoints within a project’s lifecycle. They are formal review points strategically placed between project phases where key stakeholders evaluate the project’s progress, performance, and continued viability before deciding whether to proceed to the next stage.
Here’s a breakdown of what they entail:
Purpose and Concept:
- Structured Decision-Making: The primary purpose of stage gates is to provide a structured, disciplined approach to project management.3 Instead of letting a project run its course without formal checks, these gates ensure that progress is continually assessed against predefined criteria.
- Risk Mitigation: By introducing these checkpoints, organizations can identify and address potential issues, risks, or deviations from the plan early on. This prevents small problems from escalating into major, costly failures later in the project.
- Resource Optimization: Stage gates allow for informed decisions about resource allocation. If a project is not performing as expected or no longer aligns with strategic goals, resources can be reallocated to more promising endeavors, preventing wasted time, money, and effort.
- Strategic Alignment: They ensure that the project remains aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives. If market conditions change, or the project’s value proposition diminishes, the gate review provides an opportunity to reassess its relevance.
- Accountability and Transparency: Gate reviews involve key stakeholders (e.g., project sponsors, senior management, functional managers), fostering transparency and shared accountability for the project’s direction and outcomes.
- Continuous Improvement: Each gate can serve as a “lessons learned” opportunity, allowing teams to reflect on what went well and what could be improved in subsequent phases or future projects.
How stage gates work?
- Phases: A project is typically broken down into distinct stages or phases (e.g., Ideation/Discovery, Scoping, Business Case, Development, Testing/Validation, Launch).
- Gates: A “gate” is placed at the end of each phase (or sometimes at the beginning, as an “entry gate”).
- Deliverables and Criteria: Before a project can pass through a gate, specific deliverables for the preceding phase must be completed, and predefined criteria must be met. These criteria often include:
- Completion of all tasks in the phase.
- Achievement of phase goals and objectives.
- Risk assessment and mitigation plans.
- Resource availability (budget, personnel, equipment).
- Alignment with the business case and strategic objectives.
- Technical feasibility.
- Market viability (especially for product development).
- Go/No-Go Decision (or “Kill Point”): At the gate review, stakeholders make a formal decision about the project’s future. The possible outcomes are:
- Go: The project is approved to proceed to the next phase as planned.
- Recycle/Revise/Rework: The project needs further work or adjustments in the current phase before it can proceed.
- Hold/Pause: The project is temporarily put on hold, pending certain external factors or a future review.
- Kill/Terminate: This is the “kill point” – the project is formally stopped because it no longer meets the criteria, is not strategically viable, or the risks outweigh the potential benefits.16 This can be a difficult decision, especially due to sunk costs and emotional attachment, but it’s crucial to prevent further waste.
Benefits of using stage gates
- Reduced Risk: Catches problems early, before they become too expensive to fix.
- Improved Decision-Making: Provides data-driven insights for stakeholders to make informed choices.
- Better Resource Utilization: Ensures resources are invested in the most promising projects.
- Increased Project Success Rate: Projects are more likely to meet their objectives and deliver value.
- Enhanced Communication: Fosters clear communication among all project stakeholders.
- Greater Accountability: Defines clear responsibilities for phase completion and decision points.
While commonly associated with more traditional, linear (waterfall-like) project methodologies, the principles of formal review points can also be adapted and incorporated into agile environments, though the cadence and nature of the reviews might differ.