Integrating Agile with Stage-Gate® – How New Agile-Scrum Methods Lead to Faster and Better Innovation

The article discusses how Agile project management methodologies like Scrum can be utilized within the structured innovation process of Stage-Gate to yield faster and better innovation results. Stage-Gate is traditionally used as a risk-mitigating system, breaking investment decisions down into stages with Go/Kill decision points. By integrating Agile project management into Stage-Gate, innovation teams can accelerate the process, focus on tangible product increments, and interact with users and customers earlier in the process, thus increasing the success rates of new products. The article outlines the principles of Agile project management, most notably the Scrum approach, and how it can be applied in a hybrid model for new product development.