The short answer
A stage gate review is the point at the end of each stage where the project board decides whether the project should continue. The project manager presents where the stage ended up, the plan for the next stage and an updated business case. The board then authorises the next stage, sets conditions, asks for a revised plan, or closes the project early. It's the board's main control over the project, and it only works if stopping is a genuine option.
What PRINCE2 calls it
PRINCE2 divides projects into management stages. At the end of each one, the project manager prepares the stage boundary information and the project board decides whether to authorise the next stage. You'll also hear it called a gate review, an end stage assessment or a go/no-go decision. They all mean the same thing.
Before the review: what the board needs
The project manager should send these a few working days ahead, so the board can read them in advance:
- End stage report. What the stage delivered against its plan, cost and time to date, and any lessons learned.
- Next stage plan. What the next stage will deliver, by when, at what cost and with which people.
- Updated business case. Whether the project is still worth doing, given everything now known.
- Updated project plan. The forecast for the whole project, not just the next stage.
- Top risks and issues. The handful that affect the decision.
If these aren't ready, postpone the review rather than holding it without them.
During the review: five questions
- Did the stage deliver what it should have? If not, why not, and does it matter?
- Is the project still worth doing? Do the benefits still justify the remaining cost and risk?
- Is the next stage plan realistic? Are the people, money and dependencies in place?
- Are the risks acceptable? Is the board willing to carry the risks that remain?
- Has anything outside the project changed? For example, strategy, budget, the market or regulation.
The possible decisions
- Go. Authorise the next stage as planned.
- Go with conditions. Proceed, but only once specific actions are completed.
- Revise. Ask for a revised plan or business case and come back.
- Stop. Close the project early and record why. Stopping a project that's no longer worth doing is a success of governance, not a failure.
Record the decision, who made it and any conditions, then update the plan and business case baseline to match.
Making stopping a real option
“A stage gate only works if stopping is a real option. If a board has never closed a project at a gate, the review has become a formality.”
Signs a gate has become a formality:
- The decision is made before the meeting.
- The review checks that documents exist, not what they say.
- There are no agreed criteria for passing.
- The meeting goes ahead even though the pack isn't ready.
- Too many people attend for anyone to make a decision.
About the author
Martin Brodie-Lynch
COO and Co-founder
Reviewed by Stuart Lester