Phase Gate Presentation Checklist
Document Owner:
The purpose of this document is to provide a checklist of items to consider in the preparation of
the Phase Gate Presentation. It is important to be aware of the strategic context that will shape
the presentation (e.g., business goals, client issues, etc.)
The Phase Gate Presentation contains three types of elements:
1.
Elements present in all Phase Gate Recommendations
The following outline is common to each Phase Gate Presentation:
 Title Page
 Phase Gate Objective
 Agenda
 Change Review
 Status Overview
 Deliverables Review
 Budget/Resource Review
 Risk
 Critical issues
 Phase Gate Decision
 Next Steps
 Appendices
2.
Elements specific to the Phase being reviewed
Each PMAP Phase has a specific purpose. To this end there is content that is unique
to each Phase which needs to be addressed.
3.
Elements specific to the project being covered
These address items specific to the type of project being reviewed. For example, a
Software Development project will have a different set of deliverables from an
Infrastructure Development project, which will have different deliverables from a
Facilities Development project.
Elements present in all Phase Gate Presentations
The following table provides an outline of elements that are common to all Phase Gate
Presentations, and their purpose. Sections may be combined, re-ordered, and the level of detail
scaled up or down, depending on the type of project.
Section Header
Title Page
Phase Gate Objective
Purpose
Provide the initial context for the presentation. Content should
include:
Phase Gate Review – [Name of Phase] Phase, Project Title, Date of
Phase Gate Review, and the Phase Gate Participants.
Provide a concise statement of the purpose of the meeting, i.e., what
Phase Gate Presentation Checklist
Document Owner:
you expect to accomplish during the Phase Gate review.
Agenda
Change Review
Status Overview
Deliverables Review
Budget/Resource
Review
Risks
Provide an agenda for the presentation, i.e., a list of topics to be
covered to achieve the objective.
If changes have occurred to the following since the previous phase
gate, they should be summarized: These may be in an appendix If
commitment Changes have been reviewed prior to the meeting.
Commitment Changes
 Present a summary of approved Commitment Changes since the
previous Phase Gate or Status review.
 Include a summary of pending Commitment Change Requests.
Approach
 If there is a change to the methodology being followed to develop
and implement the solution, it should be included in this section.
The development methodologies being followed are initially
addressed in the “Solution Options” and “Recommended Solution
Option” section of the Project Definition Phase Gate presentation.
Project Organization
 Address whether there are changes to the project team roles or
project governance.
Provide a high level update on what has been delivered to date and
recent accomplishments.
Provide an outline of the deliverables planned for the next phase and
their purpose. If deemed appropriate, deliverables for future Phases
can also be included.
Milestone Schedule
Summary of deliverable milestones
Review estimates and assumptions for the next Phase. If deemed
appropriate, estimates for future Phases can also be included.
Estimates should include:
Personnel Needs Estimate (Optional: Summary of personnel needs:
FTE’s by Role and assumptions, e.g., Schools and centers will commit
the personnel and time necessary to complete the planning phase.
This commitment will be in the form of staff participation in surveys,
interviews, working groups and advisory panels.
Budget
 Summary of the budget based on the Budget worksheet.(This may
be in an appendix)
 Include validation of funding sources, as required
Review the project risks and validate risk mitigation plans. This can be
covered in an appendix unless there are new risks.
Phase Gate Presentation Checklist
Critical issues
Phase Gate Decision
Next Steps
Appendices
Document Owner:
Review open critical project issues (risks that are real) and agree on
whether the impact can be mitigated without revising the estimate.
Give recommended mitigations.
Request Approval to Proceed
Decisions include one of four options:
 Approval to proceed
 Contingent Approval
 Revise and Reconvene
 Denial
Review next steps based on the Phase Gate decision.
Depending on the Phase Gate, different documents should be included
as appendix items to the presentation. (e.g., budget report, additional
details)
Elements specific to the Phase being Reviewed
The following table includes elements specific to particular phases for Phase Gate
Recommendation presentations.
Phase Gate Presentation: Project Definition
The following table includes elements specific to the Definition Phase and needed for the Phase
Gate presentation. Much of the content of the Project Definition Phase Gate is a summary of
the main components of the Project Proposal.
Presentation Content
Section Header
Purpose
Approach
Provide assurance regarding quality control measures that will be
instituted to ensure an effective project delivery process.
 Reference to the fact that PMAP principles will be followed.
 Address the methodology being followed to develop and implement
the solution. This may not always be known at this stage, in which
case it should be addressed at the Planning Phase Gate review.
Project
Review the project organization so that the Phase Gate participants
Organization
understand the project team, their respective roles and the project
governance structure for the project.
Business Overview Validate the business value proposition.
 Business Problem/Need
 Business Vision or Goal
 Objectives and Success Measures
 Benefits
 Strategic Alignment
Scope
Validate that there is a common understanding of the Project Scope and
address any changes to the scope. The “Project Proposal” provides the
Phase Gate Presentation Checklist
Section Header
Document Owner:
Purpose
baseline for the scope.
Solution Options
Recommended
Solution Option
Appendices
The scope slide should include a list of the business processes impacted,
the functional modules and features in scope, the target audience, and a
list of scope assumptions and constraints.
Summarize alternative options considered for solving the business
problem or need. It may be useful to include the following:
 Description of each option
 Pros and Cons
 Order of magnitude costs
 Benefits
 Personnel needs
 High level project timeline.
 Reference the methodologies that will be followed to develop and
implement the option; e.g., Agile Development for FAST SDLC,
Waterfall SDLC, Infrastructure Development, etc.
 Risks
 Present the recommended options proposed for solving the business
problem or need.
 Describe why the recommended option was selected and why the
others were not.
 It is possible that a single option cannot yet be recommended; in that
case, indicate when – and how – the decision is likely to be made.
 Summarize the strategy and its rationale that will be used to deliver
the product or solution, e.g., “The ‘Agile Development Process for the
Fast Framework’ methodology will be followed because it
accommodates the fact that the customer cannot provide all of the
requirements up front, desires flexibility in requirement definition,
and prefers an interactive prototyping requirements definition
approach and iterative deployment of solutions.”
Typical documents that could be included as appendix items include:
Budget Report, material supporting the Project Proposal estimates and
options, etc
Outcomes
Following the Definition Phase Gate review, there are certain tasks which need to be
performed. These depend on the Phase Gate decision and are as follows:
Phase Gate
Decision
Approved
Action


Change Phase to Planning
Change Project status to “open/approved”
Phase Gate Presentation Checklist
Contingent
Approval
Revise &
Reconvene






Denied
Document Owner:
Follow up with action items identified in Phase Gate
review
Submit update to Phase Gate participants
Change Phase to Planning
Change Project status to “open/approved”
Follow up with action items identified in Phase Gate
review
Reconvene Phase Gate meeting with Phase Gate
participants
NOTE: This could include scenario where a project is put
on hold.
 Change Project status to “Cancelled.”
Phase Gate Presentation: Project Planning
The following table includes elements specific to the Planning Phase (Iteration n) needed for
the Phase Gate presentation.
Presentation Content
Section Header
Business Overview
Communications
Plan Review
Solution Options
Review
Recommended
Solution Option
Appendices
Purpose
Validate the business value proposition if it has changed.
Provide a summary of the Communications Plan
Present alternative options considered for solving the business problem
or need, if another alternative has been considered since the Definition
Phase Gate Review.
Present the recommended option proposed for solving the business
problem or need, if another alternative has been considered since the
Definition Phase Gate Review. Describe why the recommended option
was selected and why the others were not. Present SDLC related plans
security, training, user support, etc.
Typical documents that could be included as appendix items include:
Communications Schedule, SDLC plan details, etc.
Outcomes
Following the Planning Phase Gate review, there are certain tasks which need to be performed.
These depend on the Phase Gate decision and are as follows:
Phase Gate
Action
Decision
Approved
 Change Phase to Execution.
Contingent
 Follow up with action items identified in Phase Gate
Phase Gate Presentation Checklist
Approval
Revise &
Reconvene




Denied
Document Owner:
review.
Submit update to Phase Gate participants.
Change Phase to Execution.
Follow up with action items identified in Phase Gate
review.
Reconvene Phase Gate meeting with Phase Gate
participants
NOTE: This could include scenario where a project is put
on hold.
 Change Project status to Cancelled.
Phase Gate Presentation: Project Execution
The following table includes elements specific to the Project Execution Phase (Iteration n)
needed for the Phase Gate presentation. It is expected that a Phase Gate review occurs prior to
each production implementation.
Presentation Content
Section Header
Communications
Plan
Product Readiness
Review
Steady-State
Transition Status
Appendices
Purpose
If relevant, provide a summary of changes to the Communications Plan
Present a summary of Product Readiness plans. This should include a
summary of what will be implemented, acceptance test results, the
proposed implementation/production rollout strategy, updates to
production training plans, and user-support plans.
Provide a summary of the transition status to production operations,
outlining any critical transition risks or issues.
Documents that could be included as appendix items depend on the
development methodology being followed. Typical SDLC documents
could include:
High Level Test Plans, Test Results, Additional details for Training Plans,
User Support Plans, etc.
Outcomes
Following the Execution Iteration (n) Phase Gate review, there are certain tasks which need to
be performed. These depend on the Phase Gate decision and are as follows:
Phase Gate
Decision
Approved
Contingent
Action


Change Phase to Closure
Follow up with action items identified in Phase Gate
Phase Gate Presentation Checklist
Approval
Revise &
Reconvene




Denied
Document Owner:
review.
Submit update to Phase Gate participants.
Change Phase to Closure
Follow up with action items identified in Phase Gate
review.
Reconvene Phase Gate meeting with Phase Gate
participants
NOTE: This could include scenario where a project is put
on hold.
 Change Project status to Cancelled.
Phase Gate Presentation: Project Closure
The following table includes elements specific to the Project Closure Phase needed for the
Phase Gate presentation.
Presentation Content
Section Header
Project Acceptance
Review
Post
Implementation
Review
Steady-State
Transition Status
Related Documents
Purpose
Provide a summary of the Deliverable Approval Plan and review
deliverables against approval criteria.
Provide a summary of the results of the Lessons Learned and Best
Practices Report.
Provide a summary of the transition status to production operations,
outlining any critical transition risks or issues. Transition from Steady
State to the operational manager should occur during the Execution
phase. This is just an opportunity to summarize the final transition
issues and risks.
Typical documents that could be included as appendix include:
Lessons Learned and Best Practices Report, Deliverable Approval Form.
Outcomes
Following the Closure Phase Gate review, there are certain tasks which need to be performed.
These depend on the Phase Gate decision and are as follows:
Phase Gate
Decision
Approved
Contingent
Approval
Action




Change Phase to Operations
Follow up with action items identified in Phase Gate
review.
Submit update to Phase Gate participants.
Change Phase to Operations
Phase Gate Presentation Checklist
Revise &
Reconvene


Document Owner:
Follow up with action items identified in Phase Gate
review.
Reconvene Phase Gate meeting with Phase Gate
participants
Elements specific to the Project being reviewed
For each project being reviewed, there may be elements specific to the project that is are not
covered by the common and phase-specific outlines described above. Most likely, these
elements will depend upon the Development Methodology selected for the project. The
following table presents examples of presentation elements specific to a Project utilizing the
Agile Development Methodology for the FAST Framework.
Software Development Project Elements – Agile Development Methodology for FAST
The following table includes elements specific to the Agile Development methodology.
Section Header
Purpose
Iteration Plan
Provide an overview of the Iteration Plan during the Planning Phase
Gate review, and at each Execution Phase Gate review.