Setting the Stage for Smarter Transformation - How SaaS can power Stage Gating
Using stage gates to guide your initiatives through to completion is like guiding a ship through rough waters using a map to tell you exactly where you are at all stages of the journey.
Stage gates serve as the milestones in your transformation journey. They act as checkpoints, allowing you to pause, evaluate, and decide whether to proceed or adjust your course. But if you’ve been relying on outdated or manual systems to manage these gates, you’ve likely encountered a few rough patches yourself: delays, miscommunications, and bottlenecks that slow down progress. It’s frustrating, isn’t it? We’ve worked with transformation leads who’ve expressed the same concern—despite their best efforts, stage gating can often feel like a tangled web of paperwork, approvals, and endless back-and-forths that only add to the complexity of their initiatives.
But here’s the good news: It doesn’t have to be that way. With the power of SaaS (Software as a Service), stage gating doesn’t just become easier—it becomes smarter. Think of SaaS as the streamlined compass guiding your ship, providing real-time insights, automating workflows, and ensuring seamless collaboration among teams.
It’s the tool that can transform your stage gating process into a more agile, transparent, and efficient system. Let’s explore how.
1: The Traditional Stage Gate Process—A Quick Overview
Before we dive into how SaaS can reshape your approach, let’s first take a quick look at what stage gates typically look like in the traditional sense. Picture it: You’ve mapped out the critical phases of your transformation initiative—each phase a unique milestone to ensure you’re making the right progress. These stages are your checkpoints, where you assess whether to move forward or pause for reassessment.
In a traditional stage gating process:
- Gate keepers are nominated for each gate but not automatically alerted when their approval is required. Instead, the initiative owner needs to notify them manually and request their approval. If multiple gate keepers are involved the process becomes exponentially more
- Approvals are tracked manually. Spreadsheets, email chains, and perhaps even physical sign-offs for approvals (which I used for one client a few years ago!). It’s not uncommon for bottlenecks to form in these manual stages. For example, team members might wait for approval from a senior leader, and that approval could be delayed by other priorities.
- Lastly, critical data (e.g., work plans, cost-benefit analysis, risks and mitigations, KPIs) is often scattered across different platforms—some in emails, some in meetings, and some in spreadsheets. This again makes a simple gate approval a major exercise.
It’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture, and before you know it, you’re weeks behind on an initiative that should have been moving forward.
Example
We worked with a client who was facing this exact issue. Their stage gates were too reliant on email approvals, and each stage felt like it was stalling as information bounced between departments. The transformation lead, overwhelmed by tracking numerous stages manually, reached out for help. With no clear visibility into the process, progress slowed, and the team felt disheartened. It wasn’t just about completing an initiative; it was about the pressure of juggling multiple checkpoints without the clarity or speed they needed. Worse still, the team was spending significant time on admin tasks rather than focusing on the actual initiative issues and roadblocks.
This is where the traditional stage gate process—although an essential part of transformation—starts to show its limitations. But rather than feeling like you’re stuck in a loop of delays and confusion, imagine a system where everything flows more seamlessly and efficiently. That’s where SaaS comes into play. It turns the traditional model on its head, offering new possibilities for better decision-making and smoother collaboration. Let’s now explore how SaaS can revitalize your stage gating process.
2: How SaaS Revolutionizes Stage Gating
Now that we’ve explored the challenges of traditional stage gating, let’s dive into how SaaS tools can flip the script and turn your stage gating process into a well-oiled machine. SaaS isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a transformative power that can enhance every step of your stage gate process.
- SaaS tools can handle the entire gating process; automatically alerting gate keepers that their approval is needed (instead of chasing down emails and waiting for approvals to filter in across multiple platforms)
- Approvals can instantly seen by everyone – with all stakeholder comments. A centralized, real-time dashboard where everything is tracked, updated, and shared with your team in a few clicks.
- All initiative data is available in a single location including work plans, cost-benefit analysis, risks and mitigations, KPIs and more. Relevant images and file attachments can be easily found.
Think about how much time and energy can be saved with automation. With SaaS tools, your approvals can happen faster. No more chasing down signatures or waiting for updates from distant team members. Instead, automated workflows prompt decision-makers at the right time, ensuring no step is skipped. It’s like having an assistant who knows exactly when to remind you of your next task and ensures everyone is on the same page without extra effort.
The beauty of SaaS isn’t just in streamlining tasks but in creating visibility. With real-time dashboards, managers and team members can instantly see where an initiative stands in the stage gate process. The clarity SaaS tools provide ensures teams stay aligned, reducing miscommunications and improving efficiency. It’s like having a map to navigate through a dense forest: You can see where you are, where you’ve been, and where you’re headed. No more guessing or navigating blind.
Questions to consider:
- Have you noticed communication breakdowns in your stage gating process?
- Are you tracking stage gate progress manually? How much time could be saved by automating certain aspects?
- How could real-time updates enhance the speed and accuracy of your decision-making process?
Conclusion: Embrace the Future of Stage Gating
By now, it’s clear that SaaS is a game-changer for the way businesses approach stage gating in transformation processes. The pain points of traditional methods, such as slow approvals, communication breakdowns, and lack of visibility, can be easily overcome with the right software tools. By embracing SaaS, you empower your team to move faster, collaborate better, and ultimately drive more successful transformations.
As we’ve seen through case studies and examples, the difference SaaS can make is profound. So, as you look at your own transformation initiatives, ask yourself: Are you still navigating with outdated tools, or are you ready to step into the future with a smarter, faster, and more efficient approach to stage gating? The tools you choose today will determine how swiftly and successfully your transformation journey unfolds tomorrow.