What is a structured new product development process?
Probably the most widely recognized is the Stage-Gate® process (1) pioneered by Robert Cooper in the 1980’s. Many variations of this process exist today. The Stage-Gate® process is a total quality management process for new product development. Tasks are organized in stages and completed by various functional groups. The goal of the new product development teams is to achieve development goals by project stage. As the team achieves each goal, management reviews the project to determine whether the development should continue and what resources they need to complete the next stage.
