Lesson 3 of 5
Running quality gates
9 min
A quality gate is a checkpoint where the program confirms that the deliverables of a phase are complete and acceptable before moving on. In SAP Activate, stakeholders and sponsors sign off at each gate. The foundations course introduced where gates sit. This lesson is about running them well: writing criteria that can be checked, collecting evidence, making the decision and following through.
From deliverables to criteria
A checklist item such as "test strategy complete" invites a yes. A criterion such as "test strategy approved by Priya and the process owners, covering all in-scope solution processes, with entry and exit criteria per test level" can be checked. Contoso writes every gate criterion with three parts: the condition, the evidence that proves it, and the owner who confirms it.
| Gate | Criterion | Evidence | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explore | Every in-scope solution process validated in Fit-to-Standard | Cloud ALM scope with workshop status per process | Grace |
| Explore | Backlog ranked and approved by product owners | Approved requirements with priority in Cloud ALM | Product owners |
| Realize | SIT exit criteria met; no open severity 1 defects | Test execution analysis and defect report | Priya |
| Realize | Process owners accept UAT for their processes | Signed acceptance per process with linked evidence | Dan, Maria |
| Deploy | Final dress rehearsal within the cutover window with reconciliations passed | Rehearsal log and reconciliation results | Luis |
Examples of Contoso gate criteria. Each has a condition, evidence and an owner.
The gate lifecycle
- Criteria agreedAt the start of the phase, not the week before the gate
- Evidence gatheredOwners link evidence to each criterion in the Cloud ALM quality gate
- Independent reviewPMO or quality lead checks the evidence before the meeting
- Gate meetingDeciders discuss exceptions only and take the decision
- Decision recordedPass, pass with conditions, or fail, with owners and dates
- Conditions trackedEach condition followed to closure or escalated
SAP Cloud ALM holds quality gates as part of the project, with checklists the team works through. Contoso adds its criteria to the gate checklists at the start of each phase, so the same questions are asked consistently and answers are stored with the project. Criteria agreed in advance cannot be quietly softened in the final week.
Making the decision
- Are all must-have criteria met with evidence?Yes → pass · No → next question
- Can each gap be closed by a specific action with an owner and date before it creates harm?Yes → pass with conditions · No → next question
- Would moving on create risk the sponsor is not willing to accept?Yes → fail and re-plan · No → pass with conditions, risk accepted by the sponsor in writing
Gate anti-patterns
- The rubber stamp: a gate that has never failed or added a condition is not a gate.
- The moving target: criteria rewritten in the final week to match what was achieved.
- The vague condition: "fix remaining defects" with no owner or date.
- The orphan condition: conditions recorded but never tracked, so they reappear at go-live.
- The crowd: forty observers turn the gate into a status meeting; invite deciders and answerers only.
What would you do?
At Contoso's Realize gate, the partner proposes changing the SIT exit criterion from "no open severity 1 or 2 defects" to "no open severity 1 defects" because six severity 2 defects remain. What should Grace do?
- Write gate criteria as condition, evidence and owner, agreed at the start of the phase.
- Gather and independently review evidence before the meeting; discuss exceptions only.
- Outcomes are pass, pass with specific tracked conditions, or fail; risk acceptance is explicit.
- Avoid rubber stamps, moving targets, vague or orphan conditions and crowded gate meetings.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Which is a well-written gate criterion?
2. When should gate criteria be agreed?
3. Where can Contoso store gate checklists and decisions?
4. What is the "moving target" anti-pattern?