Learn English – What’s the correct term for “gating criteria”

word-choice

In project management for software development our bosses have introduced quality gates. The idea is to reach a certain level of quality before the project can continue in the next phase.

Now, the criteria for that are called gating criteria and I wonder whether gating is a good choice. Looking up the Oxford dictionary, there's no such word.

The most likely reason for that is the German origin of our country and no native speakers are involved.

If gating criteria is not a valid word, then what is the valid word for what I described above?

Best Answer

"Gating" is not a standard English word, but it's a reasonable word to invent in this context.

A "gate" is, of course, a barrier that can be opened and closed. So in order to "open" the gate so your project can pass to the next level, you need to meet certain criteria. Their are criteria for the gate.

We sometimes add -ing to a word for a "thing" to change it into a process or subject area. Like, we sell our products to the "market". We call this process "marketing". We attach two pieces of metal together with a "weld". We call this process "welding". Etc.

So, we pass through a "gate". We call this process "gating".

There are already common words for this idea, as @probablyme says. But if you're inventing a new technique, it's common to invent new words for it. At best this is to prevent confusion with older ideas that are similar but not quite the same. At worst it is to make it sound like you've invented something truly new when really you just have a minor refinement of existing ideas.

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