Build-your-own PMO blueprint

Stage gates and lifecycle control

Move projects through standard delivery stages with clear entry criteria, exit criteria, approvals, and evidence.

Finished outcome: A gate portal for initiation, planning, build, test, launch, closeout, and benefits review.

Business problem

A PMO does not need heavyweight software to enforce lifecycle discipline. It needs visible criteria, simple evidence capture, and consistent decisions.

Core data model

Projects
Lifecycle Stages
Gate Criteria
Gate Reviews
Evidence Links
Gate Decisions

Portals and workflows to build

Gate Portal

Show each project stage, required gate evidence, approvers, and current decision state.

Power Platform build

project stage dashboard
criteria checklist
evidence upload/link fields
approval status timeline

Automations

gate readiness reminder
gate review approval
missing evidence notification
stage transition update

Reporting

projects by lifecycle stage
gate pass/fail rate
overdue gates
stage cycle time

Stage Change Portal

Control transitions between stages and capture who approved the move.

Power Platform build

stage change request form
entry and exit criteria checklist
approval decision panel
audit history

Automations

stage change approval
project team notification
Power BI dataset refresh trigger
close previous stage tasks

Reporting

stage movement over time
blocked stage changes
average days per stage
approval bottlenecks

Power BI report pages

Lifecycle pipeline
stage aging
gate health
approval bottleneck dashboard

Implementation roadmap

Define standard stages and gate criteria.
Build project/stage data model.
Create gate checklist and evidence capture.
Automate gate approval and stage changes.
Publish lifecycle and gate-health dashboards.

Governance notes

Keep gate criteria objective and auditable.
Allow exceptions, but require reason and approver.
Use stage history instead of overwriting old decisions.

Next layer down: implementation details

Table build specs

EitherProjects

Portfolio record that moves through lifecycle stages and connects to controls, status, and reporting.

Column	Type	Required	Notes
Project Name	Single line text	Yes	Primary reporting label.
Sponsor	Person or lookup	Yes	Executive owner.
Project Manager	Person	Yes	Delivery owner.
Current Stage	Choice or lookup	Yes	Initiation, Planning, Build, Test, Launch, Closeout, Benefits Review.
Overall Health	Choice	Yes	Green, Yellow, Red, Not Rated.
Baseline Launch Date	Date	No	Original approved launch date.
Forecast Launch Date	Date	No	Current expected launch date.

Relationships

One Project has many Gate Reviews, Risks, Issues, Changes, Status Updates, and Milestones.

Recommended indexes

Current Stage
Sponsor
Project Manager
Overall Health
Forecast Launch Date

EitherGate Reviews

Approval record for moving a project from one stage to the next.

Column	Type	Required	Notes
Project	Lookup	Yes	Parent project.
Stage	Choice or lookup	Yes	Stage being reviewed.
Review Status	Choice	Yes	Draft, Submitted, Approved, Approved with Exception, Rejected.
Approver	Person	Yes	Decision maker for the gate.
Exception Reason	Multiple lines text	No	Required when approved with exception.

Relationships

One Gate Review has many Evidence Links and Gate Decisions.

Recommended indexes

Project
Stage
Review Status
Approver
Decision Date

Recommended fields

Project: Project ID, Name, Sponsor, Project Manager, Current Stage, Health, Start Date, Target Launch Date, Baseline Launch Date, Stage Changed Date.
Gate Criteria: Stage, Criterion, Required Evidence Type, Owner Role, Required Flag, Sort Order.
Gate Review: Project, Stage, Review Status, Submitted By, Submitted Date, Decision, Decision Date, Approver, Exception Reason.
Evidence Link: Gate Review, Criterion, Evidence URL, Evidence Notes, Submitted By, Submitted Date.

Screens to build

Project lifecycle dashboard showing current stage, gate readiness, stage age, and blocked criteria.
Gate checklist screen with required criteria, evidence link, owner, and completion state.
Gate approval screen with decision, comments, exception flag, and next-stage target.
Audit timeline showing every stage change, approver, exception, and date.

Power Apps screen blueprints

Project manager and PMO leadProject Lifecycle Dashboard Screen

Show stage, gate readiness, missing evidence, and stage aging for a project.

Layout

Project header with health and stage
Horizontal lifecycle tracker
Gate readiness cards
Open exceptions and actions
Submit gate review button

Controls

cmpLifecycleTracker
galGateCriteria
galMissingEvidence
lblStageAge
btnSubmitGate

Formula notes

Gate submit enabled when all required criteria have evidence
Stage age uses DateDiff(StageChangedDate, Today())
Exception badge appears when gate has approved exception

Data sources

Projects
Gate Criteria
Gate Reviews
Evidence Links

Project managerGate Evidence Screen

Attach links, documents, and notes against each gate criterion.

Layout

Criteria list
Evidence details panel
Upload or link controls
Save evidence command bar

Controls

galCriteria
txtEvidenceUrl
txtEvidenceNotes
attEvidence
btnSaveEvidence
btnMarkCriterionReady

Formula notes

Evidence URL or attachment required for required criteria
Patch evidence rows by selected criterion
Refresh readiness summary after save

Data sources

Gate Criteria
Evidence Links
Gate Reviews

Gate approverGate Approval Screen

Decide whether a project can move to the next lifecycle stage.

Layout

Project and stage summary
Evidence checklist read-only view
Decision section
Exception reason panel
Approval history

Controls

galEvidenceReview
cmbGateDecision
txtGateComments
txtExceptionReason
btnSubmitGateDecision

Formula notes

Exception reason required for Approved with Exception
Approved decision updates Project.CurrentStage
Rejected decision keeps stage and creates remediation action

Data sources

Projects
Gate Reviews
Evidence Links
Actions

Dataverse solution component map

Create this as BV PMO Stage Gates using publisher prefix bvpmogate.

Tables

bv_project
bv_lifecyclestage
bv_gatecriterion
bv_gatereview
bv_evidencelink
bv_gateexception

Choices

bv_lifecyclestagechoice
bv_gatereviewstatus
bv_gatedecision
bv_evidencetype

Apps

Project Lifecycle Dashboard
Gate Evidence App
Gate Approval Portal

Cloud flows

Gate - Generate Criteria
Gate - Submit Review
Gate - Approval Decision
Gate - Stage Change Notification

Security roles

Gate Project Manager
Gate Approver
Gate PMO Admin
Gate Executive Viewer

Environment variables

Gate Review Team Email
Gate Exception Owner
Lifecycle Stage Config URL
Power BI Refresh Flow URL

Dashboards

Lifecycle Pipeline
Stage Aging
Gate Exceptions
Approval Bottlenecks

Power Fx snippets

btnSubmitGate.DisplayModeEnable submit gate review only when evidence is ready

Formula / code

If(
    CountRows(
        Filter(
            galGateCriteria.AllItems,
            Required = true && IsBlank('Evidence URL')
        )
    ) = 0,
    DisplayMode.Edit,
    DisplayMode.Disabled
)

Implementation notes

Use a generated checklist row per project and stage.
If attachments are used instead of URLs, check attachment count instead.

btnSubmitGateDecision.OnSelectApprove gate and move project stage

Formula / code

IfError(
    Patch(
        'Gate Reviews',
        varGateReview,
        {
            Decision: cmbGateDecision.Selected,
            'Decision Date': Now(),
            Comments: txtGateComments.Text
        }
    );
    If(
        cmbGateDecision.Selected.Value in ["Approved", "Approved with Exception"],
        Patch(Projects, varCurrentProject, { 'Current Stage': cmbNextStage.Selected, 'Stage Changed Date': Today() })
    ),
    Notify("Gate decision could not be saved.", NotificationType.Error),
    Notify("Gate decision saved.", NotificationType.Success)
);

Implementation notes

Gate approval and project stage update should be treated as one business transaction.
Create an action item when the decision is approved with exception.

Power Automate flow pseudo-steps

FlowGate - Generate Criteria

Trigger: When Project Current Stage changes.

Workflow map

List active Gate Criteria for the new stage. ->

Create project-specific checklist rows. ->

Assign evidence owners. ->

Notify project manager that stage checklist is ready.

Useful expressions

triggerOutputs()?['body/CurrentStage/Value']
items('Apply_to_each_criterion')?['Required']

FlowGate - Approval Decision

Trigger: When Gate Review status changes to Submitted.

Workflow map

Collect evidence links. ->

Start approval for gate approver. ->

Update Gate Review decision and decision date. ->

If approved, update Project Current Stage. ->

If approved with exception, create exception action.

Useful expressions

@equals(triggerOutputs()?['body/ReviewStatus/Value'], 'Submitted')
@or(equals(variables('Decision'), 'Approved'), equals(variables('Decision'), 'Approved with Exception'))

Status model

Stage In Progress
Gate Prep
Gate Submitted
Gate Approved
Gate Approved with Exception
Gate Rejected
Stage Changed

Permissions

Project managers update evidence and submit gate reviews.
Gate approvers decide assigned gate reviews but do not edit submitted evidence.
PMO admins maintain gate criteria and exception rules.
Executives view stage health and exception trends.

Workflow map

Project enters lifecycle stage ->

Generate stage criteria checklist ->

Project team attaches evidence ->

Submit gate review ->

Approver decides gate ->

Record exception if needed ->

Move project to next stage

Workflow logic

When a project enters a stage, create gate checklist rows from the criteria template.
When required evidence is complete, enable submit-for-gate-review.
On gate submission, route approval based on project size, risk, or stage.
On approval, update current stage, lock prior evidence, and notify the project team.

Power BI measures and calculations

Projects by Stage = COUNTROWS('Projects') grouped by Current Stage
Average Stage Age = AVERAGEX('Projects', DATEDIFF('Projects'[Stage Changed Date], TODAY(), DAY))
Gate Exception Rate = DIVIDE([Gate Approved With Exception], [Gate Decisions])
Overdue Gate Count = COUNTROWS(FILTER('Gate Reviews', 'Gate Reviews'[Due Date] < TODAY() && 'Gate Reviews'[Review Status] <> "Approved"))

MVP build sequence

Define five to seven lifecycle stages and no more than ten criteria per stage.
Create template criteria and generated project checklist rows.
Build the project lifecycle dashboard and gate checklist screen.
Add gate approval and stage-change automation.
Publish stage aging, gate status, and exception reporting.

Starter template downloads

Intake requests CSVStarter columns for demand intake, scoring, ownership, and triage decisions.Project charters CSVStarter charter fields for scope, sponsors, success measures, approvals, and assumptions.Stage gates CSVStarter criteria and review fields for stage movement and gate decisions.RAID and change control CSVStarter fields for risks, issues, actions, decisions, and change requests.Status reporting CSVStarter fields for weekly project health, milestones, benefits, and decision requests.PMO build roadmapA plain-language build order for rolling out the PMO system one tool at a time.