Stage-gate process

A stage-gate process (also called phase-gate) splits a project into a sequence of phases, called stages, separated by decision points, called gates. At each gate, leadership reviews progress against agreed criteria and decides whether to continue, adjust, or stop.

Why use gates

Gates exist to control risk and investment. Rather than committing everything up front, an organization funds the next stage only when the previous one has met its criteria. This stops weak projects early and concentrates resources on the strongest ones.

A typical flow

• Stage: work happens (discovery, planning, build, launch)
• Gate: a go / no-go / recycle decision based on evidence
• Repeat until the project is delivered or stopped

Where AI fits

Gate reviews are only as good as the evidence brought to them. AI working on the project's own data can prepare consistent, up-to-date status, risk and forecast summaries for each gate, so decisions rest on current data rather than a hastily assembled deck. Learn more about AI project management.