A Primer on Phased Project Management Techniques

Phased (or Stage-Gate™) development processes are project management tools that characterize how fast-moving, leading companies derive their success. However, these tools are often misused or misrepresented as bureaucratic methods that slow down product development. This is a brief synopsis of what these project management techniques are and what they can do for you.

The "phased" project concept is simple and somewhat intuitive: break down your development process into manageable "phases" (or "stages") with clearly defined milestones. Review each phase as it is completed with a "gate" review against the pre-agreed milestones, and make decisions to proceed, modify or "kill" a project at the gates. Figure 1 is a simplified graphic of a phased project.

Proper use of this tool requires some preparation including:
(1) Development of milestones for each phase that fits your company and its jargon.
(2) Communication of those milestones to your development teams.
(3) Training of management on how to use gate reviews to full advantage.

When properly executed, you will see several benefits:

• Effective cross-functional communication within project teams and management teams.
• Common understanding of objectives and what it takes to meet them.
• Vastly improved project review meetings and project team/management interface.
• Improved development resource management.
• Better product launches.
• Improved risk management.
• Higher "batting average" for your project portfolio.
• Compressed development cycle times.

• Don't look for (or try to design) a "recipe" that gives you the answer to successful projects. Stick with tech-niques that identify issues in a timely and constructive manner, and then drive them to positive actions. Avoid attempting to design in all of the potential questions and answers - this frequently leads to bureaucratic, paper-driven processes.
• Rigid execution of every phase and every milestone in each project will lead to a slow, over-managed process. Training is critical to understand when phases should be run in parallel or even skipped (i.e., simple product line-ex-tensions) to effectively use this tool.
• Lack of integration with the enterprise. This is not a process for developers alone. Managers must be involved, insist on using best-practice tools, and effectively use the gates for project coordination and resource allocation decisions. Good, consistent phased-project execution will demand good management decisions and concurrent input on strategy and project prioritization.

Last, while phased project techniques are examples of good best-practice tools for product developers, the same principles can be effectively used for engineering projects, process design or developing training programs; any effort that requires significant resources to do planning and development.