Tollgate Review

“If EXCELLENCE is one of your values, not only you self-critic and evaluate your performance consistently, you BEG others for honest feedback…”

― Assegid Habtewold

The tollgate review is a formal review process conducted by a champion who asks a series of focused questions aimed at ensuring that the team has performed diligently during this phase. The end result of a tollgate is a “go” or “no-go” decision.
The “go” decision allows the team to move forward to the next phase. If it is
in the last phase, the “go” decision” brings about project closure. If the decision is “no-go,” the team must remain in the phase, retreat to an earlier phase (in some instances), or perhaps the project is terminated or suspended.

Effective tollgate reviews are usually characterized by an objective evaluation of the work performed by the team during the phase and the willingness to identify and resolve problems during the reviews. Poor preparation, incomplete documentation, champions desiring to change the scope, and champions delegating replacements typically characterize poor tollgate reviews.

Tollgate review is one kind of funneling process with decisions of top management for any projects at different stages.

Below are the questionnaires which need to ask by champions/Sponsor/management before going to next stages:

Define

• Who are the stakeholders?
• What are the primary and secondary measures?
• Are you facing any barriers or obstacles I can help with?
• Are we on schedule/budget?

Measure

• What is the process capability?
• What data still remain to be collected?
• What did the FMEA show?
• What questions still remain to be answered about the process?
• Are you facing any barriers or obstacles I can help with?
• Are we on schedule/budget?

Analyze

• What are the critical X’s?
• What are the root causes?
• Are you facing any barriers or obstacles I can help with?
• Are we on schedule/budget?

Improve

• What is the process capability of the revised process?
• What criteria will be used to select the optimum solution from the set
of solutions?
• Will we run a pilot?
• Are you facing any barriers or obstacles I can help with?
• Are we on schedule/budget?

Control

• Is the process documented?
• Is the control plan completed?
• Has the process been transitioned back to the process owner?
• What lessons have we learned?
• Do we know where we might be able to replicate our new process across
the organization?
• Are you facing any barriers or obstacles I can help with?
• Are we on schedule/budget?