What it means
Project phase gates are formal decision points that determine whether work may proceed based on evidence, unresolved risk, readiness, resources, quality, and security obligations.
Why it matters
Gates prevent unresolved security and readiness problems from being carried forward where they become more expensive and harder to correct.
Practical focus
- Define the evidence and decision rights required to enter, exit, or repeat each project phase before work is authorized or committed
- Use predefined gate criteria, independent review, exception handling, and documented go or no-go decisions to make ownership, decisions, and exceptions traceable
- Review requirements status, risk, test evidence, operational readiness, and open actions at planned decision points rather than only at closure
- Prepare for schedule pressure turning a gate into a ceremonial meeting with escalation, recovery, and communication paths
Common mistakes
- Treating informal agreement as durable approval
- Leaving security ownership outside the project decision structure
- Recording activity without recording the decision and its rationale
- Discovering schedule pressure turning a gate into a ceremonial meeting only after operational handoff
Certification relevance
This subject appears in or supports the following certification bodies of knowledge: