The QStart assessment guides and screens new technology-based products or services as they make their way from concept to launch.

QStart is based on a series of assessment “gates”. A gate evaluates the work done in the preceding stage of development. Based on the results one of three decisions is made:

a) proceed to the next stage,
b) revisit previous work, or
c) stop development

Using the stage and gate process, QStart filters through promising and financially viable product/service prospects.

Each assessment gate covers the areas of Technology, Finance, Marketing, Team, and Environment.

QStart is ideally designed for:

• incubators: to assess incubator clients for entry and progress
• new ventures : as a guide for start-up, early stage, and orphan technologies.
• corporates: as a process to assist new product/service development

Analysis Graph for a QStart Assessment

Benefits:

• Improves identification of promising and unpromising new products or services
• Helps manage risk by ensuring that each development stage is complete and of sufficient quality to justify moving to the next stage
• Ensures resources are used efficiently - weak prospects are filtered out
• Highlights weaknesses – enabling problem-areas to be reworked
• Decreases time to launch by focusing scarce resources on prospective winners
• Standardises assessments – ensuring that there are no omissions and steps and tasks are checked
• A systematic and disciplined methodology means a minimal skills are required to undertake evaluations
• Provides measurable outputs and compares prospects across time