The SAGE gates.
SAGE has three gates: A (Initiation, BRD), B (Planning, FD), and C (Execution, go-live). Each gate ties a named approver to a specific artifact — so the program gets explicit permission to move forward at three decision points, not a blur of status meetings that never quite say yes.
The three gates
- Gate A — Initiation Gate
Approves: BRD (Part A)
Where: inside Assess, after the pre-Gate-A cluster (E·A·R·I)
Locks business scope and value. No delivery planning begins until the business case is approved.
- Gate B — Planning Gate
Approves: FD (Part B)
Where: at the end of Assess, after the post-Gate-A cluster (N·G·S)
Confirms the delivery plan, measurement readiness, and implementation planning before build begins.
- Gate C — Execution Gate
Approves: Go-live approval
Where: at the end of Generate, after cutover readiness
Approves production cutover. Rollback and monitoring plans are locked before anyone needs them.
What about phase exit gates?
Inside SAGE there are also phase-level exit gates (Initiation Exit, Planning Exit, Execution Exit) that act as internal readiness signals between stages. They're operational checkpoints — distinct from Gates A/B/C, which are the artifact-tied governance decisions. When people say "Gate A/B/C," they mean the three approvals above.