At the core of the approvals process there was to be clearly defined single approval point at the end of the Assessment phase - i.e., the Main Gate approval. Additional ongoing oversight was to be provided by the customer, and by independent technical and financial scrutineers attached to project teams on a full- or part-time basis.
Although the Main Gate process has become a cornerstone of the acquisition process, the scrutiny and related assurance processes have developed into what most view as an increasingly onerous and unproductive set of processes and organisational "checks and balances". These certainly do not streamline oversight nor do they provide genuine independent financial or technical input. These issues are discussed more fully later in this chapter.