Freigabepunkte

Freigabepunkte, singular Freigabepunkt, are formal decision points within a process at which authorization is granted to proceed to the next stage or to release a product, document, or change into operation. They function as gates that ensure requirements such as quality, safety, compliance, and risk are met before continuing.

They are used across domains including project management, software development, manufacturing, and regulatory contexts. In project and product development they align with stage-gate or gate-review concepts; in software development they may correspond to release or deployment gates; in manufacturing they mark the handover from development or QA to production.

Typical structure: each Freigabepunkt has predefined criteria (exit criteria), responsible authority or role, required documentation (test results, validation, risk assessment, change requests), and evidence of compliance. The decision is documented, and progression is allowed only upon approval. Often a buffer or time window is defined, and there are escalation paths if criteria are not met or if timelines slip.

Benefits include improved quality, traceability, risk management, and formal accountability. Potential downsides are bureaucratic delays and inflexibility if criteria are overbroad; thus it is important to balance rigor with efficiency and to continuously review criteria.

See also: change management, release management, stage-gate process, quality assurance.