The Gateway Review Process in Victoria

Wayne Sharpe, Executive Manager, Gateway Unit, Department of Treasury and Finance, Victoria

Table of Contents

Government policy rationale
Why a Gateway Review Process?
Characteristics of the Gateway Review Process
Reactions to Gateway Review Processes in other jurisdictions
United Kingdom
Practical benefits of Gateway Reviews
Scope
Establishing the Gateway Review Process
Setting up – the steps
What is required by departments?
Understanding the Gateway Process
Role of Senior Responsible Owner
Selecting Gates for Review and nominating reviewers
Application of Gateway Reviews
Project profile model
Using the project profile model
Procurement types
Gateway Reviews – The Six Gates
Strategic assessment (Gate 1)
Business case (Gate 2)
Procurement strategy (Gate 3)
Tender decision (Gate 4)
Readiness for service (Gate 5)
Benefits evaluation (Gate 6)
Gateway Review Reporting and Support
Review Guidelines
Reports
Review Team Status
Supporting Gateway Reviews
Importance of the review team
Training reviewers
Accreditation and skills – reviewers and team leaders
Conclusion
Annex: Commonly Identified practices that limit project success can be downloaded from:
Glossary

Government policy rationale

The Victorian Government spends billions annually on procuring infrastructure, information systems, real property, goods and services. Contemporary government procurement is now well accepted as a strategic management function requiring a commitment by departments, large and small, to effective procurement planning, innovative contracting strategies, active contract management and continuous improvement of procurement processes.

Implementing the Gateway Review Process is a key strategy for improving infrastructure and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) project development and delivery across government. The initial focus of the Gateway Review Process is on high-risk and medium-risk infrastructure, procurement and information technology/change management projects. The aim is to help departments ensure their investment is well spent, meets business objectives and achieves value for money outcomes.

Successful procurement projects depend on aligning service outcomes with project objectives in all phases of the procurement process. A project based on a sound and tested business case is more likely to achieve the planned benefits.

The Gateway approach is a structured process that examines and confirms critical decision points from concept development through to project benefit evaluation. It probes the adequacy of the risk management framework to ensure that government procurement of construction, information technology and other services or projects is successfully delivered and that learnings are fed back, so that future projects can be managed better. It does this by enhancing the discipline of project delivery, for example, ensuring ongoing alignment of project objectives throughout the various stages of project development.