Phase gate reviews explained: UK Gate 0 to Gate 5

Try 3 questions on this

Pick an answer to see why each option is right or wrong.

1. A department wants an external review, repeated at key decision points, that takes an overall view of a programme whose sub-programmes and projects reach their own gate reviews at different times. Which technique is used?

   Right. In the game that’s Renown for your Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts building.

   Not that one: C is right. In the game your Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts building would lose a little Renown, and this question would come back later.

   Your answerA.Gate 5 reviewGate 5 is repeated too, which makes it tempting, but it is the operations review and benefits realisation gate for a project after it has delivered its outputs. Its findings inform programme decision points and Gate 0 reviews.Your answerB.Post Implementation ReviewThe Gate 5 workbook calls the Post Implementation Review an internal project assurance for the SRO. It is neither external nor programme-wide.The answerC.Gate 0 reviewNISTA's Gate 0 Strategic Assessment workbook says Gate 0 takes an overall view of a programme composed of sub-programmes and/or projects going through the Gate 1 to 5 life cycle in different timeframes, and that it is repeated at key decision points throughout the programme.Your answerD.Gate 1 reviewGate 1 belongs to the Gate 1 to 5 life cycle that each project passes through. The Gate 0 workbook says Gate 0 does not replace those reviews; it looks across them at the programme.

   Written from www.gov.uk/government/publications/gate-review-0-strategic-assessment/gate-review-0-strategic-assessment

2. After go-live, a senior responsible owner wants internal assurance that the investment in the business case was justified and that lessons learned have been captured. Which technique is used?

   Right. In the game that’s Renown for your Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts building.

   Not that one: A is right. In the game your Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts building would lose a little Renown, and this question would come back later.

   The answerA.Post implementation reviewThe Gate 5 workbook describes the Post Implementation Review as internal project assurance for the SRO, confirming that the business case investment was justified and that lessons learned have been captured.Your answerB.Gate 5 reviewGate 5 is the tempting choice because it reviews benefits after go-live. The Gate 5 workbook calls it an external assurance review; the internal assurance for the SRO is the Post Implementation Review, which feeds into it.Your answerC.Sprint reviewA sprint review is where an agile team demonstrates the work it completed in a sprint. It does not assure the SRO that the business case investment was justified.Your answerD.End-of-phase retrospectiveAn end-of-phase retrospective looks at what could be improved in the next phase. It does not confirm whether the business case investment was justified.

   Show the full explanation and doc quotes

   The Gate 5 Review is external and uses it as a major input.

   Written from www.gov.uk/government/publications/gate-review-5-operations-review-and-benefit-realisation/gate-review-5-operational-review-and-benefits-realisation

3. One new IT system has passed all its testing, including business integration and user acceptance testing. Before release into production, the organization must formally choose whether to proceed, using documented criteria and a rollback option. Which technique is used?

   Right. In the game that’s Renown for your Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts building.

   Not that one: B is right. In the game your Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts building would lose a little Renown, and this question would come back later.

   Your answerA.User acceptance testingUser acceptance testing is part of the testing the system has already passed; it supplies evidence for the release choice rather than making it.The answerB.Go/no-go decisionThe NISTA Gate 4 (Readiness for Service) workbook says that for IT-enabled projects the readiness review comes after all testing and before rollout or release into production.Your answerC.Lessons learned reviewLessons learned reviews record what future projects should learn. They do not decide whether this system is released.Your answerD.Post implementation reviewThe post implementation review takes place after the system is live, to check whether the investment was justified; it does not choose whether to release.

   Show the full explanation and doc quotes

   It expects a documented go/no-go process with clear decision-making protocols and a process for the rollback decision if required.

   Written from www.gov.uk/government/publications/gate-review-4-readiness-for-service/gate-4-review-readiness-for-service