Clarify why the project should exist and what decision is needed next.
Digital appointment booking pilot
- • Outcome: Reduce avoidable calls by giving users a clear online booking route.
- • Decision needed: Confirm whether the idea should move into initiation.
- • Outcome and problem
- • Sponsor and decision owner
- • Scope boundaries
- • First risks
- • Strategic fit
- • Options considered
- • Initial tolerances
- • Stakeholder summary
LitePublic sectorDigitalSponsor
Show whether the project remains worth doing in a concise, decision-ready format.
Customer casework improvement
- • Preferred option: Improve the existing workflow before replacing the platform.
- • Benefit owner: Head of Operations, measured by reduction in rework and response time.
- • Reason
- • Expected benefits
- • Cost and time range
- • Risks to value
- • Options appraisal
- • Benefit measures
- • Disbenefits
- • Sensitivity
LiteBenefitsSponsor
Create a usable initiation baseline that guides control without becoming shelfware.
Supplier portal rollout
- • Project approach: Hybrid delivery with staged supplier onboarding.
- • Tolerance: Escalate if forecast delivery slips by more than ten working days.
- • Outcome
- • Scope
- • Products
- • Governance
- • Quality approach
- • Change control
- • Communication plan
- • Supplier controls
BaselineStandardHybrid
Define the work, controls, and decisions for the current management stage.
Stage 2 readiness checkpoint
- • Stage goal: Complete pilot readiness, acceptance criteria, and operational support model.
- • Decision point: Sponsor confirms whether the pilot can start on 12 May.
- • Stage goal
- • Products
- • Milestones
- • Work packages
- • Resource profile
- • Quality checks
- • Dependencies
- • Supplier commitments
DeliveryStagePredictiveHybrid
Keep risks, assumptions, issues, and dependencies visible enough to drive action.
Weekly control review
- • Risk: Acceptance criteria remain unclear; owner: Product Lead; action: confirm by Wednesday.
- • Issue: Data owner blocked; owner: Project Manager; action: escalate in sponsor note.
- • Type
- • Description
- • Owner
- • Impact
- • Probability
- • Impact score
- • Escalation path
- • Response plan
RisksIssuesWeeklyRecovery
Give sponsors a short, honest view of progress, risks, decisions, and support needed.
Sponsor highlight note
- • Overall status: Amber because supplier milestone slipped four days.
- • Progress: Pilot journeys agreed; support model still under review.
- • Overall status
- • Progress this period
- • Next period
- • Key risks/issues
- • Tolerance forecast
- • Change summary
- • Benefits confidence
- • Financial update
SponsorWeeklyStatus
Maintain a clear record of who decided what, when, and on what basis.
Governance decision trail
- • Decision: Proceed with a two-week pilot rather than full rollout.
- • Decision maker: Sponsor, after reviewing risk and readiness evidence.
- • Decision
- • Owner
- • Date
- • Options
- • Evidence link
- • Consulted stakeholders
- • Impact on baselines
- • Review date
Audit trailSponsorPublic sector
Stabilise a troubled project and create a credible reset baseline.
Troubled delivery reset
- • Current condition: Red; plan no longer credible and ownership unclear.
- • Stabilise: Freeze non-essential change, confirm decision owners, rebaseline critical work.
- • Current condition
- • Stop/continue recommendation
- • Stabilisation actions
- • Reset controls
- • Root causes
- • Contract implications
- • Reforecast
- • Recovery governance
RecoveryEnhancedSponsor
Define the final project output in a way that supports acceptance and avoids scope drift.
Online booking service
- • Product: Public appointment booking service with staff administration view.
- • Acceptance: Users can book, change, and cancel appointments without staff intervention.
- • Product purpose
- • Users or recipients
- • Acceptance criteria
- • Quality checks
- • Composition
- • Derivation
- • Quality method
- • Acceptance authority
ProductsQualityAcceptance
Give a team or supplier a clear piece of work, acceptance criteria, and reporting expectation.
Supplier test readiness
- • Output: Test environment ready with named support contact.
- • Checkpoint: Tuesday and Thursday until readiness is confirmed.
- • Work output
- • Owner
- • Acceptance criteria
- • Due date
- • Constraints
- • Interfaces
- • Quality method
- • Risks
TeamSupplierStage
Track uncertain events that may affect objectives and make response ownership visible.
Pilot launch
- • Cause: Supplier test environment has limited availability.
- • Event: Pilot readiness testing may not complete before launch decision.
- • Risk statement
- • Cause
- • Effect
- • Owner
- • Probability
- • Impact
- • Proximity
- • Response cost
RiskForecastWeekly
Keep live problems visible until they are resolved, accepted, or escalated.
Data ownership gap
- • Issue: No confirmed owner for customer data cleansing.
- • Impact: Acceptance testing cannot complete.
- • Issue
- • Impact
- • Owner
- • Action
- • Priority
- • Impact on tolerances
- • Decision needed
- • Resolution evidence
IssuesEscalationWeekly
Assess requested changes before they quietly alter cost, time, scope, quality, or benefits.
Additional reporting dashboard
- • Request: Add executive dashboard to pilot scope.
- • Impact: Adds five working days and needs data owner time.
- • Requested change
- • Reason
- • Impact
- • Options
- • Baseline affected
- • Cost and time estimate
- • Benefit impact
- • Risk impact
ChangeScopeDecision
Escalate a forecast breach clearly and ask for a decision on how to proceed.
Stage cost pressure
- • Exception: Forecast cost exceeds stage tolerance by 12 percent.
- • Options: Reduce scope, approve extra funding, or stop supplier work.
- • Exception summary
- • Tolerance affected
- • Options
- • Recommendation
- • Root cause
- • Reforecast
- • Impact on business case
- • Recovery options
ExceptionEscalationSponsor
Prepare a clear end-of-stage decision: continue, change direction, pause, or close.
Pilot stage boundary
- • Stage result: Pilot journey design complete; supplier readiness amber.
- • Forecast: Next stage remains viable if readiness risk is controlled.
- • Stage result
- • Business case check
- • Updated forecast
- • Next stage plan
- • Benefits review
- • Lessons
- • Risk profile
- • Change summary
StageDecisionForecast
Confirm the project can close and make ownership of remaining work explicit.
Service pilot closure
- • Closure status: Pilot complete; rollout decision moved to operations board.
- • Open action: Operations owner to confirm support process.
- • Closure reason
- • Products accepted
- • Open items
- • Benefits owner
- • Performance against baseline
- • Financial closure
- • Handover evidence
- • Residual risks
ClosureHandoverBenefits
Capture useful learning while it is still fresh enough to change behaviour.
Supplier onboarding
- • Lesson: Supplier access dependencies need an owner before stage start.
- • Impact: Readiness slipped because access blockers were found late.
- • Lesson
- • Context
- • Impact
- • Recommendation
- • Trigger
- • Evidence
- • Reusable pattern
- • Audience
LessonsLearningContinuous improvement
Make each expected benefit measurable, owned, and reviewable after delivery.
Call reduction benefit
- • Benefit: Reduce avoidable booking calls.
- • Measure: Weekly call volume for appointment changes.
- • Benefit
- • Owner
- • Measure
- • Baseline
- • Data source
- • Disbenefits
- • Dependencies
- • Realisation plan
BenefitsValueOwner
Identify who can affect the project and what they need to know, decide, or support.
Operational stakeholder review
- • Stakeholder: Contact centre managers; influence high, interest high.
- • Need: Clear service impact and training dates.
- • Stakeholder
- • Role
- • Interest
- • Influence
- • Current sentiment
- • Risks
- • Decision rights
- • Communication channel
StakeholdersEngagementSponsor
Plan useful communication that supports decisions, adoption, and confidence.
Pilot communication rhythm
- • Audience: Service team leads.
- • Message: Pilot dates, support route, and what changes for frontline teams.
- • Audience
- • Message
- • Channel
- • Owner
- • Purpose
- • Decision link
- • Risks
- • Approval need
CommunicationGovernanceChange