The 5-th Generation Stage-Gate Idea-to-Launch Process

Abstract

If your organization faces new-product challenges—development projects taking too long, new products not hitting sales targets, or an overloaded development pipeline—then it is time to move to a fifth-generation system. In the 40 years since Stage-Gate was introduced, leading firms have made major improvements to their NPD gating systems; some changes are relatively simple in concepts, such as using <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Value Steam Mapping</i> to remove bureaucracy and waste, or adopting <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">concurrency</i> and <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">parallel processing. Iterations</i> can be built in throughout the development process, a series of build-and-test steps to get both feedback from customers and technical validation. Another major improvement is more <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">focus on the development pipeline</i> by toughening the gates—making them <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">gates with teeth</i> or <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">investment decision points</i> . Finally, integrating Agile into your gating system <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">is a major step,</i> far larger than simply introducing some new methods and tools but has yielded very positive results for some physical-product firms.