ABB CIO Office
Issued by department
Date
CIO-IS Architecture & Standards
28-Jul-2017
Standard
Project name
Gate Model for IS Projects v3.1
Doc. kind
Creator name
Kjell Korsmo/Phil Lucas
9AAD103594
Lang.
Revision
en
L
Released
Design
Status of document
Phase of project
Distribution
Page
1 (12)
ABB Internal
Based on: 9AAD100005
User Manual - Gate Model for IS Projects
1 General .................................................................................................................................... 1
2 Scope ....................................................................................................................................... 2
3 Gate Model Description ......................................................................................................... 2
4 Summary per Phase/Gate...................................................................................................... 3
Appendix 1 ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Gate 0 Checklist ........................................................................................................................... 4
Gate 1 Checklist ........................................................................................................................... 5
Gate 2 Checklist ........................................................................................................................... 6
Gate 3 Checklist ........................................................................................................................... 7
Gate 4 Checklist ........................................................................................................................... 8
Gate 5 Checklist ........................................................................................................................... 9
Gate 6 Checklist ......................................................................................................................... 10
Gate 7 Checklist ......................................................................................................................... 11
1 General
The ABB Gate Model for IS Projects1 is the procedure for IS investment control.
The purpose is to provide the guiding processes for managing the transformation of
business opportunities into business solutions through the use of information
technology. These solutions will:




Supporting ABB strategies and value creating objectives
Driven by business needs and managed as an investment
Consistently delivering the expected benefits
Delivering faster, with less cost, fewer problems and lower maintenance costs
The Gate Model ensures visibility and accountability for management and provides
management assurance and support for IS project managers at key milestones within
their project. It is expected that good project practices are used throughout the execution
of project, however the Gate Model does not describe how to execute the project, it
describes what the project must do to enable business risk and investment decisions to
be made. The users of the Gate Model should be seen as business managers and
solution-providers rather than pure process-followers. All IS Projects are approved by
the appropriate management authority level. The IS investment approval follows the
general investment approval levels applicable in ABB2, in addition to any further
Div/BA/Country and BAU levels.
1
2
Gate Model for IS Projects will be referred as Gate Model in the rest of the document
Reference Group Directive 13.2 – appendix 1
FILE: 81895547 rev.3
We reserve all rights in this document and in the information contained therein. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third parties without express authority is strictly forbidden.
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Standard
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2 Scope
The Gate Model is consistently applied for all IS projects3 in ABB that


Intend to improve the way we work,
Deliver business solutions based on new or optimized processes and their
supporting information systems
Examples:
 Enterprise Management support (e.g. ERP migration)
 IS efficiency improvements (e.g. consolidation)
 eBusiness projects
 Front-end and sales force automation projects
 Supply Chain Management projects
 Project Management projects
Following are not process improvement projects:
 Customer delivery projects – governed by project management processes
 Product & Technology Development projects – governed by Gate Model for
product and technology development. 9AAD104000 (due for release Q2003)
3 Gate Model Description
A Gate is a decision point in a project where the achieved results are evaluated from a
business and strategic point of view and the Business Case is reassessed to determine
whether to continue the project or not.
Cancel project
NO GO
Gate
Assessment
Gate
Assessment
Report
Gate
Meeting
GO
Continue project
(with or without changes)
Request for
more information
Figure 1
The Gate definition
The objective of Gate Meetings is to ensure investment is still viable and that the
management and project manager are aligned to the objectives for the next phase and
overall project goals. A decision to continue may of course include alterations to the
project such as changed scope or plan (Figure 1). Any decision to proceed will include
appropriate financial approval from management (as STECO member)
Each Gate consists of two parts, a Gate Assessment and a Gate Meeting.
3
A Project:
- has clear scope, objectives, budget and time frame
- has dedicated resources and responsibility
FILE: 81895547
We reserve all rights in this document and in the information contained therein. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third par ties without express authority is strictly forbidden.
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Standard
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The Gate Assessment is done by the project team to ensure that all relevant information
is available to enable a decision to be made at the Gate Meeting itself. The purpose of
the Gate Meeting is to confirm not to analyze, any analysis and review should be done
prior to the meeting, checklists for each gate are provided to assist this process. (see
appendix 1)
Gates and Phases are shown in Figure 2. The major investment decisions are typically
done at G2 and G5 (where there is infrastructure investment, this is typically done at
G4). The Business Case, which is the basis for these decisions, must be updated
accordingly during the project.
Business Decision Process
G5
Ben. Delivery
G6
G7
Follow-up on
project results and
benefits delivery
G4
Implementation
Finalize
implementation
according to scope
G3
Validation
Agreement on
release
G2
Development
Agreement on
product readiness
for piloting
Agreement to
start a project
Figure 2
Design
Agreement
on design
G1
Agreement on
project scope
G0
Requirement
Agreement on
requirements
Scope
The Gates, the Phase names, and the achievements for each Gate
4 Summary per Phase/Gate
The checklists describe the requirements for each project gate. The complete checklists
are used in the Gate Meetings. Deliverables use published templates or equivalent, best
practice examples should be used where no template is available . The table below
shows the typical deliverables of an IS project and to which gates they apply.
Table 1
Overview of typical deliverables during an IS project
FILE: 81895547
We reserve all rights in this document and in the information contained therein. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third par ties without express authority is strictly forbidden.
 ABB Ltd; 2012
Standard
Released
Gate Model for IS Projects – User Manual
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Appendix 1
Gate 0 Checklist
Gate Checklist
Gate 0
Start of:
Gate Objective
Scope Phase
Confirm that an early review of the idea and purpose
has been done and basic questions for the proposed
project are addressed
 All Gate Meeting Participants and Steering
Committee members clearly identified and informed
about their roles
 Project sponsor has appropriate investment
authority
 Current situation analyzed (process, information
system and skills) and business needs identified
 Business opportunity analyzed to determine its

 Project costs measurement is in place
 Involvement of other organizations has been
discussed and other potential user identified
 Risk factors identified and judged
 Organization can afford the investment in the next
phase and the expected investment for the whole
project
feasibility and business value
 Skilled resources required for the next phase
Steering committee and the project sponsor are
briefed on the scope, objectives, timeline and
budget (typically a project charter)
 Steering committee approves passing this gate
 Buy-in and commitment from business
management/representatives established
identified and committed by all participating units
and proceeding with the project?
 The project details will be entered into the project
register
 Preliminary business case is built and all
stakeholders informed
Sign Off
Project Title:
Project ID:
Project Manager:
Project Sponsor:
Date:
FILE: 81895547
We reserve all rights in this document and in the information contained therein. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third par ties without express authority is strictly forbidden.
 ABB Ltd; 2012
Standard
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Gate 1 Checklist
Gate Checklist
Gate 1
End of:
Start of:
Gate Objective
Scope Phase
Requirements Phase
Confirm that agreement is achieved on project scope,
objectives, budget and timeline.
 Current situation analyzed (process, information
system and skills) and business needs identified
 Business opportunity analyzed to determine its
feasibility and business value
 Project costs updated
 Risk factors identified and judged
 Organization can afford the investment in the next
phase and the expected investment for the whole
project

 Steering committee and project sponsor agree to
 Skilled resources required for the next phase
 Buy-in and commitment from business
 Steering committee approves passing this gate
 Business case is updated and all stakeholders
 The project details will be updated in the project
Critical requirements collected from stakeholders
the updated scope, objectives, timeline and budget
management/representatives established
informed, economic benefits and costs quantified
identified and committed by all participating units
and proceeding with the project?
register
 Existing solutions in ABB reviewed together with
correct IS experts
Sign Off
Project Title:
Project ID:
Project Manager:
Project Sponsor:
Date:
FILE: 81895547
We reserve all rights in this document and in the information contained therein. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third par ties without express authority is strictly forbidden.
 ABB Ltd; 2012
Standard
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Gate 2 Checklist
Gate Checklist
Gate 2
End of:
Start of:
Gate Objective
Requirements Phase
Design Phase
Confirm that the Business Case and requirements are
agreed upon and that the project is described in
sufficient detail to proceed
 All steering committee members participated in this
 Business Case assumptions and results refined
 User requirements specification defined, prioritized
 Project costs updated
 Any new involvement of other organizations has
gate meeting including project sponsor
and agreed on by all relevant stakeholders
 Additional IS requirements defined and prioritized
 Applicable ABB IS Architecture and Standards are
identified and added to the technical requirements
 Make or buy options assessed
 Steering committee and project sponsor agree to
the updated scope, objectives, timeline and budget
 Buy-in and commitment from business
management/representatives maintained
 Interactions with other projects been identified,
integrated in the work plan and related risks
considered
 Business case is updated to reflect final scope and
and validated by a controller and stakeholders
been discussed and additional potential users
identified
 Risk factors re-evaluated
 Organization can afford the investment in the next
phase and the expected investment for the whole
project
 Skilled resources required for the next phase
identified and committed by all participating units
 Steering committee approves passing this gate
and proceeding with the project?
 The project details will be updated in the project
register
budget and all stakeholders informed, economic
benefits and costs quantified
Sign Off
Project Title:
Project ID:
Project Manager:
Project Sponsor:
Date:
FILE: 81895547
We reserve all rights in this document and in the information contained therein. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third par ties without express authority is strictly forbidden.
 ABB Ltd; 2012
Standard
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Gate 3 Checklist
Gate Checklist
Gate 3
End of:
Start of:
Objective
Design Phase
Development Phase
Confirm that there is agreement on system design and
IS architecture. Confirm the Business Case and that
activity planning is done and all consequences on
timing, cost and potential risk are analyzed, also
confirm appropriate architecture experts have been
consulted
 IS design is completed and IS application vendors
selected
 Reusable solution components in ABB identified
and included in the design
 ABB IS Architectural assessment done
 Test, integration test and pilot approach is defined
 High level concepts for implementation strategy,
operations and support requirements have been
worked out
 IS Infrastructure requirements are identified and
addressed
 Verified critical design issues by a prototype
 Best practices are included in the design
 Actions been defined to mitigate the risks/resolve
the issues and the related negative cash impacts
have been considered in the Business Case
 A Supply Manager been involved when negotiating
with vendors, the Project Manager has ensured
Supply Chain Management Process compliance for
all project procurements?
 Steering committee and project sponsor agree to
the final scope and objectives, and revised
timeline and budget
 Buy-in and commitment from business
management/representatives is maintained
 Interactions with other projects been re-assessed
and related risks considered
 Business case is updated and all stakeholders
informed, economic benefits and costs quantified
 Existing solutions in ABB reviewed together with
correct IS experts
 Project costs updated
 User costs for implementation and operations are
understood and accepted by stakeholders
 Risk factors re-evaluated after design
 Organization can afford the investment in the next
phase and the expected investment for the whole
project
 Skilled resources required for the next phase
identified and committed by all participating units
 Design is in line with the requirements specification
 Steering committee approves passing this gate
 Design impact considered in the business case
 The project details will be updated in the project
and agreed scope
update
and proceeding with the project?
register
Sign Off
Project Title:
Project ID:
Project Manager:
Project Sponsor:
Date:
FILE: 81895547
We reserve all rights in this document and in the information contained therein. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third par ties without express authority is strictly forbidden.
 ABB Ltd; 2012
Standard
Released
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Gate 4 Checklist
Gate Checklist
Gate 4
End of:
Start of:
Objective
Development Phase
Validation Phase
Confirm that the developed and tested solution is
ready for piloting. In large or complex projects it should
include test experts.
 Integration & test plans & protocols are defined
 User manuals & user training material are ready
 Operation & maintenance material is ready
 Beta test plan is done (if appropriate)
 Hosting locations for operations and support are
identified
 Infrastructure Service Level Agreements are defined
and costed (the pilot must be run under the same
conditions as the to come productive environment –
just on a smaller scale)
 Detailed process including final alignment with other
processes is documented
 Roll-back plan in case that the pilot fails, or G5 is
not passed, is done
 Implementation and support strategy decided and
reviewed with stakeholders and with IS
infrastructure?
 Steering committee and project sponsor agree to
updates to scope, objectives, timeline and budget
 Business case is updated to reflect the developed
solution and all stakeholders informed, economic
benefits and costs updated
 Project costs updated
 User costs for implementation and operations are
understood and accepted by stakeholders
 Risk factors re-evaluated
 Organization can afford the investment in the next
phase and the expected investment for the whole
project
 Skilled resources required for the next phase
identified and committed by all participating units
 Steering committee approves passing this gate
and proceeding with the project?
 The project details will be updated in the project
register
Sign Off
Project Title:
Project ID:
Project Manager:
Project Sponsor:
Date:
FILE: 81895547
We reserve all rights in this document and in the information contained therein. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third par ties without express authority is strictly forbidden.
 ABB Ltd; 2012
Standard
Released
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28-Jul-2017
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Gate 5 Checklist
Gate Checklist
Gate 5
End of:
Start of:
Objective
Validation Phase
Implementation Phase
Confirm that by the solution is verified by the pilot test
and that the plan for implementation and the business
case are realistic.
 All steering committee members participated in this
gate meeting including project sponsor
 Pilot assessment and Error Finding list reviewed
and completed
 Implementation plan finalized
 Site implementation material published
 Communication material published
 Implementation readiness assessed and approved
 Implementation plan is realistic regarding time for
user training, migration from old solutions and
proper change management activities
 Data sources are populated
 Actions been defined to mitigate the risks/resolve
the implementation issues and the related
negative cash impacts have been considered in
the Business Case
 Interactions with other projects in implementation
been identified and related risks considered
 Business case is updated and all stakeholders
informed, economic benefits and costs quantified
 Project costs updated
 User costs for implementation and operations are
updated from the pilot experience and are
understood and accepted by stakeholders
 Operations and Support in place
 Training prepared
 Certify the IS solution for Industrial IT (where
 Implementation risk factors re-evaluated
 Organization can afford the implementation
 Planned benefit documented in Business Case
 Skilled resources required for the next phase are
 Participating organizations are committed to the
 Steering committee approves passing this gate
appropriate)
been confirmed with the participating organizations
in the pilot
implementation plan, both from cost and resource
aspects
 Detailed process including final alignment with other
investment in the next phase
identified and committed by all participating units,
especially locally
and proceeding with the project?
 The project details will be updated in the project
register
processes is documented
Sign Off
Project Title:
Project ID:
Project Manager:
Project Sponsor:
Date:
FILE: 81895547
We reserve all rights in this document and in the information contained therein. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third par ties without express authority is strictly forbidden.
 ABB Ltd; 2012
Standard
Released
Gate Model for IS Projects – User Manual
9AAD103594
K
28-Jul-2017
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Gate 6 Checklist
Gate Checklist
Gate 6
End of:
Start of:
Objective
Implementation Phase
Benefits Delivery
Phase
Confirm that implementation plan is completed and
formally close the project and ensure that operational
elements are in place
 Plan to monitor usage, benefits and stakeholder
satisfaction is active
 Plan to monitor operations and support performance
is active
 Project documentation is properly archived
 Handover to process/product manager is ready
 Experiences collected and actions defined for
continuous improvement
 Experiences from the project been collected and
shared with the rest of the organization
 Operational performance/cost, has been reviewed
and improvement identified
 Actual level of usage and benefits have been
compared to the usage forecast in the business
case
 Actions been defined/queries been raised to
 Project has been properly handed-over to the
Product Manager (no outstanding project issues
left and project resources have been released)
 Business case is revised and the basis for benefits
measurement agreed with all stakeholders
 Project costs updated and close project cost
center
 Gate 7 date agreed (typically 6-12 months after
Gate 6)
 Steering committee approves passing this gate
and closing the project
 All stakeholders, including the steering committee,
are fully briefed on project closure
 Group Application Register is updated
 The project details will be updated in the project
register
improve the stakeholders acceptance/satisfaction?
Based on the regular stakeholders satisfaction
monitoring
Sign Off
Project Title:
Project ID:
Project Manager:
Project Sponsor:
Date:
FILE: 81895547
We reserve all rights in this document and in the information contained therein. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third par ties without express authority is strictly forbidden.
 ABB Ltd; 2012
Standard
Released
Gate Model for IS Projects – User Manual
9AAD103594
K
28-Jul-2017
11/12
Gate 7 Checklist
Gate Checklist
Gate 7
End of:
Objective
Benefits Delivery Phase
Confirm that business case is on track by evaluating
status of the implemented solution. Also confirm that
lesson learned have been acted upon
 Experiences collected, incl. actual benefits and
 Feedback from users regarding ideas for
 Lessons learned collected and respective actions
 The project details will updated in the project
 Actions been defined/queries been raised to
 Project sponsor has been informed
 Steering committee approves passing this gate
compared to the business case
defined for future projects
improve the stakeholders acceptance/satisfaction?
 All potential benefits gained from usage of the
improvements and higher benefit are captured
register
and completing the project
product been realized at all sites
 Support process is working well
Sign Off
Project Title:
Project ID:
Project Manager:
Project Sponsor:
Date:
FILE: 81895547
We reserve all rights in this document and in the information contained therein. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third par ties without express authority is strictly forbidden.
 ABB Ltd; 2012
Standard
Released
Gate Model for IS Projects – User Manual
9AAD103594
K
28-Jul-2017
12/12
Revisions
Rev.
Ind.
Page (P)
Chapt. (C)
Description
Date Dept./Init.
B
Draft for GM3.0
03.05.2002
C
Draft for GM3.1
GP-PMI - PeHo
2003-01-22
CIO-ISA – kk, RS
D
Draft for GM 3.1
2003-02-06
E
Including feedback from ISI(Joseph Leinders, Thomas Schmidt),
ISA(Roland Pettersson, Hakan Olsson)
2003-02-25
F
Expanded explanation of Gate Model in relation to good project practice,
eliminated repetition between deliverables and activities in Gate
summaries, added ‘end of’ and ‘start of’ phase labels to each Gate
summary, added explanation of optional and mandatory to deliverables
table
2003-02-27
G
Reduced number of deliverables required (table and Gate summaries
updated accordingly)
2003-03-07
H
Added G1 after input from PT division
2003-03-20
CIO-ISA, PL
CIO-ISA, PL
CIO-ISA, PL
CIO-ISA, PL
CIO-ISA, PL
I
Change name, revised checklists to reflect input from IS Council
J&K
Draft for BA IS review prepared
L
Public revision
2003-04-01
CIO-ISA, PL
2003-04-04
CIO-ISA, PL
2012-12-14
GF-IS AK
FILE: 81895547
We reserve all rights in this document and in the information contained therein. Reproduction, use or disclosure to third par ties without express authority is strictly forbidden.
 ABB Ltd; 2012