This paper investigates decision making in the stage gate process at an aerospace manufacturer. More specifically how decision makers deal with uncertainties and ambiguities when making decisions is in focus. The stage-gate was found to be a discussion trigger—a boundary negotiating artefact—where stakeholders could bring things “on the table”; reflect on uncertainties, to decide where more knowledge is needed. Managers should be aware that the knowledge base might not always be perfect, and make use of the sensemaking capabilities of the stage-gate and the gate meeting to mitigate and improve the knowledge base. Therefore, this paper elaborates on formalized knowledge-based criteria to support this evaluation of the knowledge base.
展开▼
