Nominate a Stage-gate Process for Your Program

Amplify allows you to define stage-gate processes to manage the workflows within your project. When you associate a stage-gate process with your program, all projects within your program will automatically inherit the process.

Remember, the program itself will not be part of the process, but the projects will show the process diagram on the Performance dashboard and stage-gate milestones (as the default milestones) on the Gantt chart.

The stage-gate processes are defined at the global administrator-level, but you can add the process into your program and make changes to the existing settings if required.

You do this using the Process page.

This article contains the following topics:

• Enabling the stage-gate process for the program
• Defining a stage-gate process
• Creating alternate end stages

Enabling the Stage-gate Process

To enable the stage-gate process for your program:

1. Navigate to the Program.
2. From the program menu, select Configuration. 
3. Select the Process menu item.
4. Select Enable Process toggle button to turn it on.
   The selection field below the toggle button will show existing processes defined at the global level and any processes defined locally. If you want to use a global process in your program, you can select it in that field and make the required changes in the fields below.
   
5. Select a process and click Save.

Defining a Stage-gate Process

Before you begin, make sure you have configured workflows to be used within the process.

To create a new Stage-gate:

1. Ensure that Stage-gate is enabled.
2. Click in the Process Name field and type in the name of the new process.
3. Click in the Number of Stages drop-down list and select the number of stages available in the process.
   
   You can use this field to append new stages to the existing process after the stage-gate is set up and active if you want to, but removing stages is not supported.
   The fields that display below allow you to configure the stages within the process. For each stage, you can attach an approval workflow and specify the next possible stage.
4. Click in the Stage Name field, and enter the name of the first stage. This is the name that users will see on the stage-gate process diagram. The Stage field will get automatically filled by the stage name.
5. Click in the Approval Workflow drop-down list, and select the approval workflow triggered when the process is in this stage. The approval states configured for the workflow will display below this field.
6. Click in the Stages Available drop-down field, and select what stage the process will move into if the current stage is approved.
7. In the Gate Identifier field, enter the gate name as it will display on the process diagram.
8. In the Assessment Criteria field, you can describe the assessment criteria applicable to the stage.
9. If you are happy with the values entered for the first stage, scroll up and select the second stage from the Stage drop-down field and add relevant values in all the subsequent fields.
10. Repeat for all stages.
11. Click Save when done.
    The Stage-gate process is now available to be linked to any project in the program.  

Defining Alternate End Stages

Sometimes it becomes necessary to define alternate end stages for the process. For example, projects may have to be cancelled or kept on hold instead of being completed.  This is when you must create alternate end stages. If an alternate end-stage is defined, the workflow initiator can select it as the next stage to move to when the workflow is approved.