This article explains how to create stage gate workflows using the native OnePlan stage gate workflow feature.
These stage gate workflows are entierly customizable for your organization's needs. In this article, I will use an example scenario to demonstrate how you can configure a workflow. Of course, your workflows will likely be very different from the example in this article.
Click the Edit icon for the desired step and go to the Stages tab. Using this tab, you can create simple stage gate workflows for your process flow.
First, you need to select the Stage Type. Options include No Stage Gate, Power Automate Gate, and Standard Stage Gate.
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No Stage Gate means that there is no stage gate workflow for the step, and it will function normally.
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Power Automate Gate means you want to use Power Automate to create a stage gate workflow.
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Standard Stage Gate means that you want to use OnePlan's native stage gate workflow feature to set up a stage gate workflow. We will focus on this Standard Stage Gate option in this article.
Now you need to determine which steps in the process flow the user will be routed to after the current step. You can configure multiple next steps here based on rules or approvals.
In this example, I am using the out of the box OnePlan Project process flow steps, which are: Initiation > Execution > Planning > Monitoring > Closure.
I want to configure the following progression starting at the Initiation step:
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Example Scenario: If the Budget is less than or equal to $500,000, I want the Executive Sponsor of the project to approve the plan before proceeding. Once approved, I want the process flow to move to the Execution step and the State of the project to update to Active. If the Budget is greater than $500,000, I want the workflow to stop completely and throw a warning to the end user to review the project further.
Let's dive in and configure each of this scenario.
First I will configure the logic if Budget is less than or equal to $500,000, I want the Executive Sponsor of the project to approve the plan before proceeding. If the Budget is greater than $500,000, I want the workflow to stop completely and throw a warning to the end user to review the project further.
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Click the Edit icon for the Initiation step. Then go to the Stages tab of the Edit Step form.
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For the Stage Type, select Standard Stage Gate. The Next Steps settings will appear.
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Click into the Add Step field and select the process step you want the flow to route the user to. I will select Execution. This will add the step to the list below.
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Click the Edit icon for the added step (Execution in this example). This will take you to the Approval Process: [selected step] page.
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We will start by creating a rule that will stop the workflow if the Budget is greater than $500,000. Go to the Rules tab, and click Add Rule. The Add Rule screen will open.
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Enter a Name for the new rule. I will call this rule "500k Budget"
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Enter Failure Text for the rule. This is the error that will appear to the end user when the workflow stops if the plan fails the set rule criteria (so, when the Budget is greater than $500,000 in this example). For this example, I will enter "The budget for this project is too high and cannot proceed through our standard process."
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Now we need to configure the logic that will drive this rule. Again, I want the workflow to proceed if the Budget is less than or equal to $500,000. I want the workflow to stop and the Failure Text to show if the user tries to move forward to the next stage when the Budget is greater than $500,000.
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Click into first the empty field and select Budget from the drop-down. The form will get some more fields.
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Next I will select the operator or inequity. The system uses equal by default. Click on equal and select less or equal from the drop-down.
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In the final field, I will enter "500000."
This means that the process can proceed if the plan passes our set rule criteria (Budget </= 500000), and will fail if it fails the set criteria (Budget > 500000).
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Once the rule and logic are configured, click Save. The new rule will now be available in the list of rules.
Now I will configure the approval process where the Executive Sponsor of the project must approve the plan before proceeding. Once approved, I want the process flow to move to the Execution step and the State of the project to update to Active.
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Click on the Approval tab. Then click Add Approval. The Add Approval screen will open.
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First select who this approval needs to go to. Options here include Users and Teams or Field. In this example, I will select Field, then select Executive Sponsor.
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Users and Teams allows you to select specific users or teams to recieve the approval. You may select multiple users.
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Field allows you to select a user field from the plan. The user or team selected for that field will recieve the approval.
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Select the Approval Method. Options here include First User or All Users. In this example, I will select First User.
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First User means the plan will be approved once the first user approves (if there are multiple approvers set).
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All Users menas that the plan will be approved once all users set up as approvers approve the plan.
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Set the Number of Days the approvers have to approve the plan. I will enter 30, meaning the approvers have 30 days to complete their approvals.
Note
This settings does not enforce any approvals or timelines. It functions simply to set expectations for the approvers to get their reviews complete in a timely manner.
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Enter a subject for the approval notification that will be sent to all approvers. For this example, I will enter "Project Submitted for Approval." The notification will be sent as an email, as well as a OnePlan notification that appears in the Notification Center.
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Select fields to be included in the notification to provide the approvers additional context to the project that they are approving. These fields will be included as a list at the bottom of the email or notification. For this example, I will select Budget, Business Case, and Estimated Start.
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Compose the notification body. This is the main body text of the notification sent out to approvers. For this example, I will enter "Please review this proposed project. Once approved, the project will become active and will move onto the Execution phase."
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Next I will configure the plan fields to update upon approval. Again, I want the State field to update to Active.
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In the Fields To Update section, click Add Field. The Add Field To Update form will open.
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In the Field field, select State.
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In the Value field, select Active.
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Click Save. The Field will be added to the list of Fields To Update
Note
You can also set up automatic plan conversions upon approval. For example, you can have an Idea converted into a Project once approved. You need to have the conversion configured in the Plan Type settings first, and then you can add that conversion into the approval workflow.
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Click Save. The new approval workflow will be added to the list of approvals.
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Click Save again to return to the Stages tab. You can set up additional stage gate workflows if desired. Once you are done, click Save for the Edit Step form, then click Save for the entire Plan Details form.