Agile-Stage-Gate Approach: Exploratory Research on the Structure, Roles, and Responsibilities

Abstract

One of the most prominent methodologies gaining recognition in recent years is the Agile-Stage-Gate approach. The relatively new hybrid model is a combination of the Stage-Gate and the Agile-Scrum models. Several companies already using the Stage-Gate process have recently adopted the Agile-Stage-Gate approach to improve product development and project management. However, each of these companies has added their adjustments and modifications to the new approach in order to accommodate their specialized needs and to achieve the goals that are unique to their company. Therefore, no fixed structure or standardized features have been explicitly assigned to this hybrid approach. Instead, each company has added on different features and manipulated the new approach to fit whatever needs arise from moment to moment. This ambiguity leads to the question of whether the structure, roles, and responsibilities of this new approach can be defined and if so, how these clear and consistent definitions can improve productivity, efficiency, communication and market response time. The purpose of this study is to explore the structure, roles, and responsibilities within this new approach and to identify patterns that emerge during the product development and project management processes. The research questions presented were administered and examined through a qualitative survey. Fifty-two complete responses were collected from experienced individuals who have varying degrees of experience with the Agile-Stage-Gate approach. These findings revealed many similarities and differences between the structure, roles, and responsibilities of this approach, which were also dependent on the product and project type being considered. The most apparent similarities between roles and responsibilities were found in the case of software products and new product development projects. The Agile-Stage-Gate approach has also had a significant and undeniable impact on team communication and performance and was shown to improve overall quality and productivity. Keywords: agile, stage-gate, customer, scrum, sprint, hybrid, ideation, combination products, backlog, retrospective