Unexpected detrimental outcomes can certainly occur in a new battery
development project. It is therefore valuable to follow a gate process that
forces the customer and supplier to stop and analyze the existing project
information. Dividing the work in 4 to 5 successive phases with well-defined
deliverables is an excellent way to take a snapshot at the end of each phase.
At this time the associated risks are listed and addressed one by one with
corrective or monitoring actions. The risk level is very visible and actionable,
so it can be openly discussed between parties. At any moment of time, risk is
managed not ignored; knowledge is analyzed not taken for granted. This tool
is used by leading companies after all in their Innovation efforts. A simplified
version to address the project technical side is much easier to implement and
manage, and still very effective in helping make sound decisions.