An agile-stage-gate model for medical startups: A case study of a medical product startup in Thailand

The agile manifesto and the agile-stage-gate model has been introduced as a product development process, widely used among many large well-established firms, and showed positive effects on those firms. However, less attention has been paid to whether or not this way of thinking and methodological processes can be fully applied to specific settings like medical startups. Some challenges such as implementation, resource allocation, working procedures, and organizational transformation could be different in shapes and forms and in intensity vis-à-vis medical startups. The study aims to cope with this deficiency by, firstly, reviewing previous empirical studies that presented process models, challenges, and positive effects of the agile manifesto and the agile-stage-gate model on well-established firms. Secondly, to investigate the agile application in startup settings, the researchers conducted a longitudinal case study by drawing on a successful medical product startup in Thailand that has engaged in the actual implementation of the agile manifesto and agile-stage-gate model in its product development. Thirdly, the study compared the results of implementing the agile in large firms and the medical startup case in this study to investigate similarities and differences in terms of challenges and effects. The study showed both correlations in the same and contrasting directions of the previous studies and the case study’s results. The findings of this study can be created and categorized into four aspects of applying the agile-stage-gate in a startup, including balance transformation, work process, person-job fit, and team collaboration. Additionally, the study revealed the relationship among these four aspects, which together form an agile model for medical startups that balance between the long-term objectives and short-term goals, the adaptability and predictability, and the flexibility and rigidity of the set objectives.