Project Management Phase Gate Process

The gates are located at points in the project where the enterprise will subsequently incur.

Project management phase gate process.

The phase gate process is part of the organization s project management system and overall business process which in turn is continuously changing with its external environment. A review at the end of a phase in which a decision is made to continue to the next phase to continue with modification or to end a project or program. Similar to the waterfall methodology the phase gate process is a linear project management concept punctuated by stages of development followed by benchmarks for assessment. Gates are often implemented within a pmo to provide visibility at key points in the project into each project s health and likely outcome.

Phase gate gives project managers the flexibility to customize the process for each project rather than a one size fits all methodology. The project is divided into different stages or phases and separated by gates. It is important to create such review to make important decisions to continue on to the succeeding phase end the project or continue but implement some modifications. The project management institute s pmi s pmbok guide 6th edition.

Provisions must be made for updating and fine tuning the phase gate process on an ongoing basis to assure relevancy to today s project management challenges. Developed in the 1940s for large scale engineering projects this process has been used by many organizations driven by a need for quick product to market launches. By breaking down chaotic idea generation into manageable steps phase gate fosters a project management process and discipline that can become the organization s project culture. Definition of a stage gate the project management institute.

A phase gate process also referred to as a stage gate process or waterfall process is a project management technique in which an initiative or project e g new product development software development process improvement business change is divided into distinct stages or phases separated by decision points known as gates.