Readiness Gates
A gate criterion is a hard launch condition: a precondition that cannot be bypassed for a safe, funded, legitimate start of operations. Gate logic is what separates a readiness system from a progress dashboard.
Why gates override scores
Averages hide fatal gaps. A venture can score 90% across all criteria and still be unable to open — because the operating licence is missing, the workshop dust extraction is not commissioned, or recurrent funding for the first operating year is unconfirmed. Gate logic ensures a single critical NO-GO condition stops the launch regardless of the overall score.
Typical gates: formal mandate and governance, appointed accountable leadership, minimum programme or service readiness, safe facilities and equipment, sufficient qualified people, confirmed recurrent funding, and safety, inclusion and safeguarding controls.
Gates and phasing
Gates do not force everything to be finished — they force honesty about scope. If a programme, building section or service line cannot pass its gates by the target date, it is phased to a later stage and the launch proceeds with a deliberately limited, safe and funded offer.
Frequently asked
- Can a gate be waived?
- A gate can be formally set Not Applicable only by a recorded scope decision — never as a shortcut for 'not done yet'. Life-safety gates should never accept a conditional status.