Improved Stage Gate: Enhanced Field Validation

The June 2026 release introduces enhancements to Stage Gate functionality, giving organizations more control over how and when plans can progress through key stages.

With this update, Stage Gates can now evaluate more advanced conditions—such as whether a field contains or does not contain specific values—before allowing a process step to move forward.

What’s New: Advanced Field Validation

Stage Gates now support more flexible validation logic, including:

Key Improvement

• “Contains / Does Not Contain” Conditions
  Stage Gate rules can now check whether a field includes (or excludes) specific values before permitting progression.

Example:

• A plan cannot move to the next stage unless the Project Status field contains “Approved”
• Or, a stage is blocked if a field contains restricted or incomplete values

Why This Matters

Previously, Stage Gate validations were more limited in how they evaluated field data. This made it difficult to:

• Enforce nuanced business rules
• Handle scenarios where multiple acceptable values existed
• Prevent progression based on partial or invalid inputs

With enhanced condition logic, Stage Gates can now better reflect real-world decision criteria.

How This Helps You

1. Stronger Process Control

You can now ensure that plans only progress when specific conditions are truly met.

Result:
More reliable stage transitions that align with your defined processes.

2. More Flexible Validation Scenarios

Instead of relying on exact matches, you can validate based on broader criteria.

Examples:

• Allow progression if a status contains any approved category
• Block progression if a field contains incomplete or placeholder values

Result:
Greater flexibility in how rules are defined and enforced.

3. Improved Data Quality at Key Milestones

Stage Gates are often used to enforce checkpoints. With better validation:

• Required data must be properly populated
• Invalid or incomplete entries are caught earlier

Result:
Cleaner, more accurate data as plans move through stages.

4. Reduced Manual Oversight

Instead of relying on stakeholders to manually review readiness:

• Stage Gates can automatically enforce requirements
• Progression is controlled by system logic

Result:
Less need for follow-ups and manual validation checks.

5. Better Fit for Structured, Approval‑Driven Environments (BD Use Case)

For organizations like BD, where stage transitions often depend on:

• Status checks
• Readiness criteria
• Defined governance rules

This update allows Stage Gates to:

• Reflect real approval conditions
• Prevent premature progression
• Support consistent execution across teams

Result:
More standardized and controlled lifecycle management.

When You’ll Notice the Biggest Impact

This update is especially valuable if you:

• Use Stage Gates to enforce process milestones
• Require more nuanced validation than simple equals conditions
• Manage projects with multiple acceptable states or conditions
• Want to reduce manual checks before stage progression

Final Thoughts

The improved Stage Gate functionality is a meaningful step toward more intelligent, rule-driven process control in OnePlan.

By enabling “contains” and “does not contain” logic, this update gives organizations the flexibility to define more realistic and effective validation rules—ensuring that plans progress only when they are truly ready.