Some gates are rubber stamps; others are survival. This one decided funding for the rest of the year. Here’s how we passed it the first time.
Prep the evidence
- Gate criteria mapped to artifacts: charter, scope baseline, schedule, benefits, risks, compliance sign-offs.
- Each criterion had an owner, due date, and proof (link, sign-off, or demo).
- Dry run with internal reviewers a week prior; fixed gaps immediately.
Show readiness, not perfection
- Presented forecast with confidence ranges, not single dates.
- Highlighted top 5 risks with mitigations in flight and residual exposure.
- Declared what was out of scope to avoid silent assumptions.
Make the decision easy
- Two slides on options if not approved: cost of delay, risk profile, and team impact.
- Clear asks: approval to proceed, funding release, and one policy waiver with a time-bound remediation plan.
After approval
- Logged decisions and conditions; added them to RAID and change control.
- Shared a concise summary with teams within 24 hours.
- Scheduled the next health check to prove we honored the conditions.
Stage gates are less painful when evidence is organized and risks are owned. Treat them like a service to stakeholders—they’re buying confidence, not slides.