Programme Assurance and Stage-Gate Reviews for Projects and Programmes – Paris, 1–5 Feb 2027

Programme overview

Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Case study

Introduction

Approval boards often commit further funding to programmes on the basis of status reports prepared by the teams being approved. Reviews happen too late, test documents rather than delivery, and produce recommendations nobody tracks. This Core Concept course equips managers to design and run proportionate programme assurance, from setting gate criteria to conducting evidence-based reviews and rating delivery confidence. Participants practise on review packs from several sectors and leave with an Integrated Assurance and Approval Plan for a programme of their own.

Course Objectives

• Distinguish governance, assurance and audit responsibilities across the three lines for programmes and projects
• Design a proportionate assurance regime with gate criteria aligned to the programme life cycle
• Plan and conduct a gate review using evidence requests, document checks and structured interviews
• Rate delivery confidence and write evidence-based recommendations that decision-makers can act on
• Handle reviewer independence, optimism bias, failing programmes and iterative delivery within an assurance regime
• Produce an Integrated Assurance and Approval Plan for an own programme

Target Audience

• Programme and project assurance managers planning and leading reviews
• PMO and portfolio managers operating gate and approval processes
• Programme managers preparing their programmes for gate decisions
• Internal audit managers reviewing capital and change programmes
• Governance managers who prepare investment and approval committee decisions
• Finance and commercial managers validating business cases at decision points

Course Outline

Day 1: Governance, Assurance and the Programme Life Cycle

• Governance, Assurance and Audit Distinguished Under ISO 21505
• IIA Three Lines Model Applied to Programme Assurance
• Programme Life Cycle and Decision Points in ISO 21503
• Assurance Maturity Assessment of an Existing Portfolio
• Root Causes of Programme Failure from Published Independent Reviews

Day 2: Assurance and Gate Frameworks

• Stage-Gate Model: Gates, Deliverables and Go/Kill Criteria
• MSP Programme Assurance and Tranche-End Reviews
• PRINCE2 Project Assurance and Stage Boundary Controls
• Integrated Assurance and Approval Plan Structure
• Delivery Confidence Assessment Rating Scale

Day 3: Conducting the Gate Review

• Gate Review Terms of Reference and Scope Definition
• Evidence Request Lists and Document Review Checklists
• Structured Review Interviews Based on ISO 19011 Principles
• Estimate Maturity Tests Using AACE 18R-97 Estimate Classes
• Review Report Writing with Prioritised Recommendations

Day 4: Independence, Bias and Problem Programmes

• Optimism Bias and Reference Class Forecasting in Gate Decisions
• Reviewer Independence, Conflicts of Interest and Panel Selection
• Recovery Reviews and Reset Options for Red-Rated Programmes
• Assurance of Agile Delivery Using Increment Reviews and Definition of Done Evidence
• Recommendation Tracking and Closure Audit

Day 5: Case Work and the Integrated Assurance and Approval Plan

• Energy Capital Project Case: Final Investment Decision Gate Review
• Enterprise Technology Programme Case: Delivery Confidence Assessment
• Gate Review Criteria Build for an Own Programme
• Integrated Assurance and Approval Plan Drafting
• Mock Review Panel and Plan Defence

Skills You Will Gain

• Assurance Regime Design
• Gate Criteria Definition
• Evidence-Based Reviewing
• Review Interviewing
• Delivery Confidence Rating
• Recommendation Writing
• Programme Recovery Assessment
• Reviewer Independence Management

Why Attend This Course

• Return to work with an Integrated Assurance and Approval Plan for a live programme, tested before a mock review panel
• Walk into a gate review knowing which evidence to request and which answers to probe
• Give decision-makers a delivery confidence rating they can rely on, not a status colour negotiated by the team
• Compare assurance practice with managers from energy, technology, infrastructure and public service programmes

Conclusion

Assurance protects an organisation only when it is independent, timed to real decisions and based on evidence rather than reassurance. This course moves from the governance roles and life cycle that frame assurance, through the principal gate and assurance frameworks, to the conduct of reviews and the bias, independence and recovery problems reviewers meet in practice. The final day turns that material into an Integrated Assurance and Approval Plan that participants take back to their organisation, giving decision-makers a reliable basis for every gate.