How Companies are Reinventing Their Idea-to-Launch Methodologies

The Stage-Gate® system introduced in the mid-1980s has helped many firms drive new products to market. But leaders have adjusted and modified the original model considerably and built in many new best practices. They have made the system more flexible, adaptive and scalable; they have built in better governance; integrated it with portfolio management; incorporated accountability and continuous improvement; automated the system; bolted on a proactive front-end or discovery stage; and finally, adapted the system to include “open innovation.” All of these improvements have rendered the system faster, more focused, more agile and leaner, and far better suited to today's rapid pace of product innovation.