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C O N S U L T I N G | D E L I V E R Y | A S S U R A N C E

PROJECT SOLUTIONS

GATEWAY ASSURANCE REVIEWS

How to Participate in a Gateway Review Step-by-Step Guide

PM Solutions Australia is a 100% independent and progressive, professional services and project Solutions Company, providing consultancy services to clients and partners within government and the not-for-profit and private sectors throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific. We are a professional service and project solutions firm helping our clients plan, deliver andassure their portfolios of projects whilst improving their future business performance.

Our fresh approach to end-to-end project planning, delivery and assurance, has established our reputation as a company of integrity, honesty and professionalism, who deliver qualityprofessional services on a consistent basis.

We develop and put strategies into action, delivering sustainable and positive change whilst ensuring operational sustainability and improvement through project, program and portfolio delivery whilst ensuring ongoing sustainability through accredited assurance services.

Our dedication to value for money services and realistic outcomes, enables our company to continue to provide project planning, delivery and assurance solutions to leading organisations in a broad range of industries and the government sector, delivering the leading edge services of:

Our company, and its team of professional consultants, pride themselves on being able to deliver true value for money services and solutions, which are implemented on time and to the highest customer quality expectations. Our commitment to our customers continues well beyond final delivery of programs and their projects, and we support our customer's business visions through valuing hard earned relationships and taking an enthusiastic interest in opportunities where we can deliver sustainable, beneficial and positive business change.Through ingenuity, experience, commitment, skill and hard work, we continue to deliver sustainable project solutions and professional services to many businesses, and by listening to our customers we have enabled them to deliver positive change and realise true business benefits.

We truly can “do more with less”

q Program delivery

q Project delivery

q Transformation & reform

q Organisational change

q Training, coaching & mentoring

ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW

q Assurance partnering

q Strategic assurance

q Gateway™ reviews

q Health checks

q Agile assurance reviews

q Portfolio management frameworks

q P3O® & PMO services

q P3M3® assessments

q PPM tools services

q AXELOS™ consulting services

Our fresh approach to end-to-end project delivery, consulting and assurance, has established our reputation as a company of integrity, honesty and professionalism, who deliver quality professional services on a consistent basis.

We possess a wealth of experience gained from strategic engagements with leading government, not-for-profit and private sector organisations. We have leveraged from the combined wealth of our experiences and riches, to present a value for money and industry leading, project solutions company. Our complimentary services provide integrated solutions which bring together leaders, teams, processes and technologies, whilst providing our clients with customised solutions and capabilities to empower clear, business focused deliverables across a broad spectrum of industries and sectors.

OUR POINT OF DIFFERENCE

PM Solutions Australia is an accredited AXELOS Consulting Partner and able to provide quality assured consulting services relating to the AXELOS best practice portfolio products including PRINCE2®, PRINCE2 Agile®, MSP®, M_o_R®, MoP®, MoV®, ITIL®, P3O® and P3M3® maturity modelling.

AXELOS Consulting Partners are professional consulting organisations that work with clients to develop their capabilities in portfolio, program and project management, IT Service Management, and the global best practices methods for portfolio, program and project delivery.

Organisations, such as PM Solutions Australia, offer consultancy in AXELOS product areas to equip people and organisations with the essential skills to implement planned transformational change, which they may not access to internally.

As a globally certified AXELOS Consulting Partner, you can expect the following benefits when engaging PM Solutions Australia:

q unique solutions that reflect your circumstances and aspirations;

q speed, because the consultancy team (unlike the in-house management) isn’t distracted by other tasks;

q proven knowledge of ‘global best practice’ and fit-for-purpose, common-sense and effective solutions;

q direct exposure to expertise derived from other industries and sectors;

q provision of specific technical skills that are non-existent or in short supply in-house, and often the transfer of such skills to in-house staff; and

q change management skills enhanced by the consultant’s position as independent and objective.

AXELOS GLOBAL CONSULTING PARTNER

HOW TO PREPARE FOR A GATEWAY REVIEWLE

T’S

GE

T R

EA

DY

…Congratulations! You about to undertake a Gateway review for your project or program. Gateway reviews are a simple, low impact and repeatable assurance process that is undertaken at specific gates within the project or program lifecycle.

You should always remember that the Gateway review leader, and team members, are here to help you, your project (or program) to succeed, and deliver a better outcome. We like to think of ourselves as ‘partners’ rather than reviewers.

So…what should you do to prepare for a Gateway Review?

Your key review team member or coordinator, will need to make contact with the review lead consultant, to discuss the review and any important elements. This could included critical delivery dates or availability of project team members, executives or key stakeholders.

Depending on which gated review number is being undertaken, the review lead consultant will ask you to correlate key documents related to the specific gate. We list these documents for you on second last page of this guide.

A one-on-one meeting will need to be coordinated with the review lead consultant and the SRO/Sponsor. This allows the review team to gather a better understanding of the expected review outcomes and any areas that the SRO/Sponsor may feel needs additional attention.

STARTING A GATEWAY REVIEWPR

EPAR

ING

TO

LAU

NC

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Now that you have supplied the review team consultant with appropriate documents and they have met with the SRO/Sponsor, the review is ready to start (we can feel the anticipation building!).

During this time the review team would have reviewed and discussed the contents of the supplied documents, and overlaid their findings with needs of the SRO/Sponsor, which would have been agreed to at their initial meeting. Now we need to coordinate the review, and make it happen.

What do I need to do to coordinate a Gateway Review?

The lead review consultant will provide you with a list of key interviewees required for the review. Commonly these are 30-45 minute interviews, held over 1-2 consecutive days. You will need to agree if the interviews are held on-site, over the phone or at an agreed alterative location.

The interviews will need to be coordinated and booked into the calendars of the review team and the interviewee. At this stage, some additional coordination may be required, as its not always easy to align interview times, especially with busy executives.

The lead review consultant will confirm all interview dates and times and make direct contact with interviewees, as needed or required. Behind the scenes, the review team will meet together, to ensure their approach is ready, and that all SRO/Sponsor considerations are included into their review approach.

MANAGING GATEWAY REVIEW DELIVERYW

E H

AV

E LIF

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…You made it! We are now in the delivery phase of the Gateway review. At this stage, as a result of

your forward planning, things should run smoothing and without too many issues.

During this phase, pre-arranged interviews will be undertaken, the SRO/Sponsor will be updated

daily, or as agreed, and the review team will start to build their draft report, which are based on

findings from interviews and additional discussions with program or project mangers and the

SRO/Sponsor.

What happens during the Gateway Review delivery?

The review team will conduct

interviews, where and when

agreed. Early notice should

be given (when possible) if

interviews are changed,

cancelled or if interviewees

are unable to attend.

The lead review consultant is

the primary point of contact

and as such, may have

enquiries or clarifications that

will need to be answered in a

prompt manner, so the review

can continue to schedule.

This may include further

documentation not supplied or

clarifications of feedback

received from interviews.

Once the review team has

completed interviews, they will

head back to their base and

commence developing the

draft report, for review by the

SRO/Sponsor. It is important

to remember that all interviews

are conducted in a high-level

of confidence, and the review

team does not discuss any

aspects of the reviews, except

with the SRO/Sponsor.

FINISHING A GATEWAY REVIEWM

ISS

ION

AC

CO

MP

LIS

HE

D…

You survived! We hope that your enjoyed the Gateway review process and that the review has provide your organisation with the assurance support that it required.

Now that the interviews and draft report are complete, the review team is eagerly finalising the Gateway review report for the SRO/Sponsor. The final report has been developed specifically for the SRO/Sponsor, following the Gateway review process, but also includes a review of specific areas, which the SRO/Sponsor may have requested.

What happens to complete a Gateway Review?

After an initial review of the draft review report, the review lead consultant will include any adjustments to the report and issue a final report to the SRO/Sponsor. This is the Gateway review report and it should only be shared by the SRO/Sponsor, at their sole discretion.

If you have provided the review team with any paper based documents, they should be returned to the issuer. The review team will delete or securely destroy any digital copies of documentation supplied for the review, including the report. This ensures the highest levels of confidentiality and privacy.

The role of the review team is now complete. The SRO/Sponsor will have been de-briefed and presented with the final Gateway review report. The report commonly contains recommendations, which the SRO/Sponsor may (or may not) adopt and action. You should now start planning for your next gated review, the earlier you plan the smoother the process.

10 11 12

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN A GATEWAY REVIEWO

MG

(OS

H)…

AN

IN

TE

RV

IEW

OMG(OSH) is commonly what we hear when a Gateway review is started, or people receive

appointments for a Gateway review interview. What we say is…relax!

We are not an audit team, spy’s or sent in to ’slice and dice’ projects, we are here to help. Our

teams love Gateway reviews and more importantly, love to help projects and organisations to

succeed. We know first hand, the challenges and uncertainty of program and project

environments, we focus on supporting people and organisations through the Gateway review

process and ensure that achievements are highlighted, and that opportunities for improvements

are confidentially recommended to the SRO/Sponsor.

Tips for participants in Gateway interviews…

Relax and enjoy the

opportunity to express your

views, experiences and

understanding of the project

or program. This is also a

great time to talk about what

you see as being done well

and areas that you might be

concerned about.

Don’t over prepare or study for

the interviews. The interviews

are conducted in a highly

confidential and relaxed

environment, more of a

conversation than fact finding

mission. The review team will

guide you through the process

and work through lines of

enquiry and clarification.

Be open minded and honest

through the interviews. We

are 100% independent and

our review teams are only

looking for the best outcomes

for the project. Everything you

say is in confidence and we

do not use individual names or

roles in reports, as we are not

reviewing individuals.

DO

CU

MEN

TATI

ON

GU

IDE

§ Strategy document(s) or business plans§ Program brief or program business case§ Scope document§ Stakeholder management document§ Communications strategy§ Governance document(s)§ Risk and issues management plans§ Financial management plan§ Program structure documents§ Dependencies register or document(s)§ Delivery plan (tranches or phases)§ Program schedule§ Stage plans

GATE 0. KEY DOCUMENTS

• Evidence of risk and issue management• Change management plans• Service management plans (IT)• Benefits management strategy or plans• Delivery strategy• Final updated business case• Solution evaluation and approvals• Supplier implementation plans• Procurement evaluation reports• Testing strategy or approach (IT)• Procurement close-out plans• Updated project management plan • Baseline or active schedule• Updated communications plans• Funding approvals• Next stage plan

GATE 3. KEY DOCUMENTS

§ Project brief§ Project initiation document (PID)§ Quality plan or strategy§ Project approach document§ High -level business requirements§ High-level benefits management plan§ Preliminary draft business case§ Communications plan or strategy§ Risk register§ Issue register§ Project register(s)§ Budget management documents§ Governance documents§ Quality plan § Roles and responsibilities documents§ Business impacts assessment§ Assurance plan§ Next stage plan

GATE 1. KEY DOCUMENTS

§ Final business case§ Benefits realisation plan§ Cost management documents§ Change management plan§ Procurement strategy and plans§ Procurement evaluation plans§ Business requirements document§ Draft contracts§ Draft project management plan (PMP)§ Risk register§ Issue register§ Project register(s)§ Risk management plan(s)§ Updated assurance plan§ Market scans or approach to market§ Technical and architecture review (IT)§ Quality plan§ Next stage plan

GATE 2. KEY DOCUMENTS

§ Updated requirements specifications§ Change approvals (if applicable)§ Updated business case§ Updated benefits realisation plans§ Updated service delivery plans (IT)§ Budget management documents§ Active schedule (with baseline)§ Evidence of risk & issue management§ Alignment to regulatory requirements§ Contract management§ Test plans and reporting§ Reporting (governance and technical)§ Updated project register(s)§ Updated project management plan § Defect management plans§ Contingency plans (IT)§ Go-live readiness check list§ Next stage plan

GATE 4. KEY DOCUMENTS

§ Updated business case§ Post implementation report§ Lessons learned log (including

actions)§ Benefits realisation report§ Updates to support agreements § Updates to contracts§ Business or solution improvement

plans§ User or customer feedback§ Evidence of service management

operating§ Stakeholder issues report§ Acceptance criteria report or hand-

over documents§ Decommissioning or disposal plans§ Evidence of sustainable support

(including suitable resources)

GATE 5. KEY DOCUMENTS

www.pmsolutionsaustralia.com.au | www.pmsolutionsnz.co.nz

Head Office Suite 14 | 192 Ann StreetBrisbane | QueenslandAustralia 4000+61 7 3041 4014 admin@pmsolutionsaustralia.com.au

SydneyLevel 7 | 333 George StreetSydney | New South WalesAustralia 2000+61 7 3041 4014 sydney@pmsolutionsaustralia.com.au

New ZealandCamp StreetQueenstown | South Island New Zealand 9300 +64 439 369 311admin@pmsolutionsnz.co.nz

PRINCE2®, MSP®, P3O®, ITIL®, M_o_R®, MoV®, P3M3®, PRINCE Agile® and MoP® are registered trademarks of Axelos Limited. All rights reserved. The Swirl logo™ is a trade mark of AXELOS Limited and used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.

* Denotes under study or finalisation

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