Project governance and gates
How SmartERP governs projects across five stage gates, enforces scope freeze, manages change requests, tracks RAID registers, and validates go-live readiness.
Delivery governance in SmartERP (smarterp_governance) ensures that projects adhere to corporate standards, contractual commitments, and regulatory requirements. It prevents uncontrolled scope creep and establishes clear decision gates from project charter to closure.
The five stage gates#
Every governed project in SmartERP progresses through five formal stage gates:
| Gate | Name | Objectives | Mandatory artifacts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gate 0 | Inception & Feasibility | Validate business case, strategic alignment, and high-level feasibility. | Project Charter, initial stakeholder register. |
| Gate 1 | Planning & Scope Freeze | Approve baseline scope, budget lines, schedule, and team allocation. | Baseline WBS, approved budget lines, Scope Freeze activation. |
| Gate 2 | Execution & Build | Deliver sprint increments, verify milestones, and control changes. | Sprint velocity logs, milestone clearances, RAID updates. |
| Gate 3 | Pre-Go-Live Readiness | Verify operational readiness, user training, data migration, and UAT sign-off. | Completed Go-Live checklist, UAT certificate, cutover plan. |
| Gate 4 | Handover & Closure | Complete warranty handoff, financial reconciliation, and post-mortem review. | Final billing clearance, asset handoff, lessons learned. |
Important
Advancing a project through a stage gate requires authorization from designated gate approvers (Project Sponsor, CTO, or Finance Controller). Gate sign-offs are permanently recorded in the project chatter and audit log.
Scope freeze and change requests#
Once a project reaches Gate 1, SmartERP automatically activates Scope Freeze:
- Restricted task creation: Direct creation of new deliverable tasks is blocked unless linked to an approved change request or executive emergency authorization.
- Change Request classification: Changes are logged as tasks with governance type
changeand classified by impact:
| Class | Severity | Description | Approval requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class A | Minor | Internal task refinement with zero budget or schedule impact. | Project Manager approval. |
| Class B | Moderate | Reallocation of resources within existing budget contingency (< 5%). | PM and Tech Lead approval. |
| Class C | Major | Schedule extension or budget increase (> 5% and < 15%). | PM, Tech Lead, and PMO sign-off. |
| Class D | Executive | Contractual variation, milestone shift, or budget increase (> 15%). | Delegation of Authority (DoA) executive approval (CTO / Sponsor). |
Note
DoA approvers cannot approve their own change requests. SmartERP enforces segregation of duties between the author and the approver.
RAID register management#
The RAID register provides continuous visibility into delivery risks:
- Risks: Unforeseen events that may impact project delivery. Rated by probability (1–5) and impact (1–5) to calculate risk exposure score.
- Assumptions: Critical hypotheses regarding technical dependencies, client responsibilities, or third-party deliverables.
- Issues: Realized impediments that currently affect project progress. Issues with blocker severity trigger immediate escalation workflows.
- Dependencies: Intersystem, interteam, or client-provided deliverables required before tasks can commence.
Go-Live readiness checklist#
Prior to clearing Gate 3, the project team must complete the Go-Live Readiness verification matrix:
- Data Migration: Baseline data extract, transform, load, and reconciliation completed.
- User Training: End users and operational administrators trained with sign-off attendance.
- Integration Testing: All upstream and downstream API bridges verified in production-like staging.
- Rollback Plan: Documented cutover steps with defined abort thresholds and recovery timings.
- Operational Handover: Support team briefings completed and ticketing escalation paths verified.