Leveraging Prompt Engineering in the Stage Gate Innovation
János Tibor Czere, Márta Péntek · 2025
Innovation and digitalization are crucial for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) to maintain a competitive edge with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital tools playing a key role in optimizing decision-making and workflow efficiency. The Stage-Gate Model provides a structured framework for managing innovation, while prompt engineering enhances AI-driven processes by refining inputs for more accurate and relevant outputs. However, SMEs often face financial limitations, knowledge gaps, and restricted access to AI tools, which hinder their ability to fully leverage these technologies. In this paper we present how prompt engineering can be applied within Stage-Gate innovation model for SMEs in healthcare sector. The article highlights how AI-assisted prompt engineering can enhance various innovation stages, improving idea generation, market analysis, and competitor assessment to support strategic decision-making. Additionally, we examine how large language model prompts can contribute to business plan, prototype design, validation, and product launch, leading to higher efficiency, cost savings, and increased product success rates through this innovative approach. Finally, we discuss how integrating prompt engineering into the Stage-Gate Model enables SMEs to overcome resource constraints, enhance innovation capabilities, and improve their market competitiveness.