Reviews related to stages and gates

If you have a project framework, then you will recognise these reviews being at the gates prior to starting new stages. These gates define phases of your project, perhaps a Business Case Gate, or a Ready for Service Gate. In these reviews, we focuses on the decision to proceed with, or not to proceed with the project, and if the project is proceeding, then we check the adequacy of preparation for the next part or stage of the project. The project management practices should always be assessed to confirm that they are being implemented effectively.

We will be making available a "Health Check Tool" shortly, aimed at assisting you with the review, so keep watching or follow this link and we will add you to our notification list and let you know when we add relevant content you are interested in.

Reviews at key points within stages

When you have long stages, intermediate reviews should be planned into the project schedule. These should be event driven and could relate to a particular deliverable such as the feasibility report, the signing of a major supply contract, or the start of validation or trial.

It is good practice to plan for reviews approximately every 3 months. These reviews should confirm that the costs, time scales, and project targets remain achievable and that the expected benefits will be delivered to the business.

Reviews Related to key deliverables

When project deliverables are produced, they need to be reviewed and signed off against predetermined criteria. It may be appropriate to link a review of the entire project to a key project deliverable; this is essential in the case of letting major contracts or starting validation trials. (Note the review of the deliverable itself would be covered by your managing quality process)