Each stage is designed to collect specific information to help move the project to the next stage or decision point.
Each stage is defined by the activities within it. Activities are completed in parallel (allowing for projects to quickly move towards completion) and are cross-functional (not dominated by any single functional area). These activities are designed to gather information and progressively reduce uncertainty and risk. Each stage is increasingly more costly and emphasizes collection of additional information to reduce uncertainty.
In the typical Stage-Gate model, there are 5 stages, in addition to the Idea Discovery Stage: