In Cooper s method, gates are the points in the process where a decision must be made. The gatekeepers, a team of senior managers from different functional areas of the company, can choose to Go, Kill, Hold, or Recycle the project. Gates are also quality control checkpoints for determining if the previous stage was executed in a quality fashion, if the project team did its job well, if the project is still attractive from an economic and business standpoint, and if the action plan is sound. A decision meeting is held at each gate to consider project prioritization and resource allocation. The result is a more effective, efficient, faster process that produces more successful new products.
Companies don t have to be large to develop new products.
Obviously, the smaller the company, the tougher it is to have a sustainable design program in creation of new products, Pheiff said. But where there s a will, there s a way. If it s important to your organization and you re small, there are outside resources to help you get it done. The small guys are so busy running their companies, they don t necessarily have time to look outside, Pheiff said. It s a tough world out there, Pheiff said.