How we change what others think, feel, believe and do
There is a basic principle in project management whereby the project is paused at critical points to ask critical questions to ensure that sufficient value will be delivered within a reasonable timescale.
The resourcing transaction
The basic principle of the gate process is a transaction between sponsors and
the project manager, exchanging approval to proceed, along with requisite
resource and support in exchange for project and benefit delivery, including use
of risk-reducing and confidence-building management methods. The basic exchange
is as follows:
Gates, checkpoints and milestones
These three words are often used in similar circumstances and definitions vary. The differences used here are:
Passing the gate
The actual passing of the gate is typically done in a series of meetings in which key stakeholders agree to plans and commit needed resource and support.
Gate approval will vary with the project but typically includes:
The final approval may well be given in a gate meeting with key resource holders who jointly agree to permitting the project to proceed.
The gate usually looks in two directions:
Note that the attention and rigor required in passing the gate depends very much on the resource that is being committed.
And the big