One of the unsettled discussions in smaller companies especially is when to move on from abstract talk to actual planning and laying out a proposal. Consider a technology like a new biomaterial which may be in development for some time, perhaps a decade. When deciding whether or not to use that material in a device and then putting that into a full project proposal, there needs to be some timing.

If it happens to early, there are not enough preliminary details to plan or propose anything. If it happens too late, there is a lot of disorganization. Luckily, processes like Stage Gate solve this with their gating concept, but smaller companies do not often adopt this straight away.

What is your opinion on how much information is needed in order to begin a formal project, or what is actually done in your company to decide such things?