The Adaptation of the Agile Stage-Gate Model for

Application in the Development of Timber Building

Design

Keywords: diffusion of innovation, agile, stage-gate, timber construction

1. Purpose:
There is a shortage of innovation efforts within the construction
industry, and an inclination towards using traditional construction
methods [1]. This issue, in conjunction with the effect public
perception plays on the diffusion of innovations [2], can affect the
exploitation of the opportunities that exist within timber construction.
These barriers present themselves as a need for a shift in mindset and
approach to modernising the construction industry. Through the
consideration of innovation diffusion aspects such as public perception
and best practices from literature, a model can be developed to
iteratively develop timber construction designs and assist with their
diffusion and commercialisation.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to perform an in-depth
investigation into the adaptation and application of an Idea-to-Launch
model to the development of timber construction designs within the
context of the South African timber industry.

2. Context:
Innovation is typically associated with risk and cost, and this is no
different within the timber construction sector. By implementing a
model that assists to manage risk and cost, and consistently validates
the applicability of the product/design, innovation, specifically timber,
may be more welcomed within the industry.
3. Research Questions:
3.1. What are potential benefits of applying an adapted Agile-Stage-
Gate (AGS) model to pre-manufactured timber buildings?
3.2. What are the limitations of applying the adapted AGS model to
development of pre-manufactured timber designs?
3.3. What adaptations to the AGS model are required for application in
pre-manufactured timber buildings?
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4. Objectives:
4.1. To design an adapted Idea-to-Launch model, which can be used for
iterative development of timber construction design, within the South
African timber industry.

5. Literature Review:

Diffusion of Innovations
Diffusion of innovations relates to the widespread adoption/non-
adoption of an innovation, over time. Important elements include:
innovation, communication channels, social systems and time.
Timber construction is considered “new” within South Africa,
therefore requires diffusion to spread knowledge and change
perceptions [3], [4].
Examples of critical aspects to consider include:
 Analysis of user demographics
 Analysis of domains of adoption
 Analysis of conditions of adoption and trends of non-adoption

Traditional Stage-Gate-Model
The traditional Stage-Gate (SG) consists of stages and gates, facilitating
the new product (NPD) process. The model may consist of 4 – 7 stages,
depending on the context of application. Each stage has activities for
gathering of information, which is presented as deliverables at a gate,
which then provides a decision to move the project to the next stage or
kill the project. Each gate can be characterised by: inputs, exit criteria
and output decision. This model emphasises “front-end homework”, to
prevent costly (time and money) later in the project lifecycle [5].
Examples of critical aspects to consider include:
 Development of innovation strategy
 Clearly defined, cross-functional gate-keepers
 Clear deliverables
 Market and competitive analysis
 Customer needs analysis

Agile-Stage-Model
The AGS aims to address the issues with the traditional SG; linear,
rigid, incapable to cater to dynamic innovation projects and too much
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paperwork. The Agile adaptation is aimed to be: Adaptive, Agile and

Accelerated [6].
Popular Agile aspects incorporated into the SG, includes: scrums,
sprints, product backlogs and spiral development. The model
incorporates the voice of customer early in the project [7]. Examples of
critical aspects to consider include:
 Ensure key assumptions and uncertainties are identified and
noted
 Assigning of critical roles and responsibilities (such as project
owner, scrum master/project manager, development team)
 Incorporation of the scrum framework into appropriate stages
 Determine key financial criteria and qualitative criteria
(strategic fit and market potential)

Benefits
 Responsive to customer needs within the emerging timber
construction market
 Increased productivity
 Reduced project risk through adaptation
 Spiral development and inclusion of voice of customer
 Reduced cost of failure

Limitations
 Limited previous work related to Idea-to-Launch models within
the South African construction sector
 Iterative development models are resource intensive
 Requires an experienced team

6. Methodological Procedures:
A narrative literature review was conducted using the following
databases: Google Scholar and Scopus. The key topics which guided
the narrative literature review included:
1. Diffusion of innovation
2. Traditional Stage-Gate model
3. Hybrid Agile-Stage-Gate model
4. Critical factors to consider in the development of the Agile-
Stage-Gate model, in the context of the study
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The literature was then synthesised into a conceptual model based on

generic key considerations.

7. Implications:
The study presented has implications related to the expansion of the
adoption of timber construction within the South African construction
industry. Ultimately, this can reduce the overall construction industry
emissions and assist with increasing volumes of erected low-cost
timber homes and wider adoption of timber in general through
contextual development.

References
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construction with mass timber for economic and environmental sustainability,” J.
Build. Eng., vol. 78(September), 16–19 (2023).
[2] Laguarda Mallo, M. F. and Espinoza, O.: “Awareness, perceptions and
willingness to adopt Cross-Laminated Timber by the architecture community in the
United States,” J. Clean. Prod 94, 198–210 (2015).
[3] Zanello, G., Fu, X., Mohnen, P and Ventresca, M. J.: “The Creation and
Diffusion of Innovation in Developing Countries: A Systematic Literature Review,”
Econom. Econom. \& Stat. Methods - Spec. Top. eJournal (2016), [Online].
https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:154755782.
[4] MacVaugh, J. and Schiavone, F. “Limits to the diffusion of innovation: A
literature review and integrative model,” Eur. J. Innov. Manag.,13, 197–221 (2010).
[5] Cooper, R.: “Stage-Gate Systems: A new tool for Managing New Products,”
Bus.Horiz., (1990) [Online] Available:
http://www.carlosmello.unifei.edu.br/Disciplinas/Mestrado/PQM-21/Textos para
leitura/Texto_1_stage-gate_Cooper_1990.pdf.
[6] Cooper, R.: “What’s next?: After stage-gate,” Res. Manag. 57(1), 20–
31( 2014).
[7] Cooper, R.: “Idea-to-launch gating systems,” Res. Technol. Manag. 60, 48–
52, (2017)