3: Management of intended outcomes

How to use this section for:

First Gateway Review 0.

If the first Review is very early, the key aspects to investigate indepth are:

• main outcomes identified
• relationships between outcomes.

Plans for achieving the outcomes are likely to be unclear at an early stage, but there should be evidence of high level plans for the way forward (or a set of options for consideration, with a preferred option identified) and a reasonably clear indication of how success will be measured - e.g. a trajectory for take-up of a service.

At programme initiation all areas must be investigated indepth to confirm that expectations for delivery are realistic and that performance can be measured with reasonable accuracy.

Mid-stage Gateway Review 0.

The main focus of this mid-stage Review is to check that plans for delivery of outcomes remain achievable.

Final Gateway Review 0.

The topics in this section may not need to be covered at programme closure.

Areas to probe

Evidence expected

3.1 Have the main outcomes been identified?

• Up-to-date list of the main outcomes and desired benefits, linked to strategic outcomes and to the deliverables from specific projects.

3.2 Are the planned outcomes still achievable, or have any changes in scope, relationship or value been properly agreed, and has the Business Case been reviewed?

• Outcomes identified, together with their relationships to each other
• Credible plans for the achievement of outcomes
• Ongoing commitment from stakeholders to the outcomes and their achievement.

3.3 Are key stakeholders confident that outcomes will be achieved when expected?

• Confirmation that planned outcomes have been achieved to date
• Mechanisms for collecting performance data in place and a plan for evaluating impact of programme in operation
• Programme Board confident that planned milestones will result in good quality deliverables that will, in turn, deliver the necessary outcomes
• Commitment from key stakeholders that programme deliverables will achieve the desired outcomes.

3.4 Is there a plan for achieving the required outcomes?

• A benefits management strategy, and a plan to ensure that outcomes are delivered in terms of performance measures/key performance indicators
• Plans to identify appropriate baseline measures against which future performance will be assessed
• Plans to carry out performance measurement against the defined measures and indicators
• Where planned outcomes have not been achieved, evidence that the problems have been identified and plans are in place to resolve them
• Clarity on how the objectives from the sub-programmes/projects link to the outcomes of the programme.