Digital Age Assurance

History

A conventional gated assurance review method has been utilised in the United Kingdom since 2000, since it was originally released by the now defunct (2011) UK Office Government Commerce. Since that time, ‘Gateway-style’ assurance has adopted by other countries including Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands and Singapore. In 2003, the Australian state of Victoria was the first jurisdiction to adopt the ‘gateway-style’ assurance method, with the Australian Commonwealth Government developing its own ‘gateway-style’ assurance in 2006, with New Zealand Government’s developing and adopting its own ‘gateway-based’ assurance in 2008.

By late 2008, most government and jurisdictions had adopted and utilising a form of gated assurance, and its has been estimated that since 2003, that more than 20,500 gated reviews have been undertaken on over 5,200 programs and projects, across the asia-pacific. Over this period, jurisdictions report that since the inception of formal gated or ‘gateway-style’ assurance processes, it has improved:

  • on-time, on-budget program and project delivery objectives
  • cost effectiveness
  • positive feedback from program and project owners, project teams and reviewers

Problem

Over the last 27 years, governments and non-government organisations, have made significant inroads on their journey to modernise their services, whilst at the same time, citizen and customer expectations of governments and service delivery organisations have continued to increase significantly. Today, all organisations have been asked to deliver more outcomes, faster, better and for less. Organisations are meeting this challenge by adopting agile delivery and more agile ‘ways of working‘ approaches to transform their services and their operations.

However, current gated assurance methods, models and practices have not responded to this fast paced, agile and customer centric environment. Feedback from modern program and project owners, assurance business units and PMO’s has consistently identified that the current gated assurance processes and assurance reviewer practices, have a number of shortcomings in their relevance for modern, agile digital environments, more specifically they responded that:

  • current gated assurance methods, models and practices do not compliment agile delivery environments – in fact, they “work against them!”
  • there is not a best practice dedicated agile assurance method – or aligned “reviewer practices for agile assurance reviews”
  • current gated assurance practices are not aligned to modern age, digital and transformational, program and project delivery needs
  • the original UK Office of Government Commerce ‘gateway’ assurance method has not been reviewed, nor updated to incorporated agile delivery approaches and environments
  • ‘Gateway-based’ assurance reviewer certifications are uncontrolled, uncertified and unmeasured, in terms of their currency – some being obtain “over 22-years ago”

Opportunity

Through a recent private Australian based survey, 90% of program and project owners agree that, the recommendations provided through current gated assurance methods, noticeably improved program and project outcomes. With a solid foundation of assurance value well entrenched, there was an opportunity to leverage the current outdated gated methods, models and processes and modernise it, establishing a best practice, contemporary digital assurance review process, that supports governments and organisations to successfully assure the delivery of their business critical and transformational initiatives, in a modern, agile, fast-paced and customer centric environment.

Assurance for the Digital Age

Global Digital Assurance (GDA) has defined the standard for professional assurance accreditation, supported by best practice, innovative and on-demand training programs, specifically designed for modern assurance reviewer professionals, governments and delivery organisations in the fast-paced, customer centric and agile digital age – with a focus on effective techniques, styles and tools.

A Focus on Agile

The Agile Assurance program has introduced a best practice training standard and accreditation that until now, has not been present nor available for agile delivered projects and their overarching digital programs. The agile focused assurance training courses and globally recognised accreditations, provide assurance reviewers with the skills, techniques, capabilities and best practice knowledge to confidently deliver agile assurance reviews, while organisations and governments have access to a talent pool of agile specific and accredited assurance review professionals.

Modernising Gateway Assurance

The Gateway Assurance training and accreditation program incorporates the learnings of 6 countries, 19 agencies/jurisdictions and 16 bespoke assurance review methods, resulting in an updated, modernised and improved best practice training and accreditation program for gateway assurance review teams. This includes more holistic assurance gate guides, with targeted reviewer training materials, reviewer support guides, which are specifically developed for gated assurance a modern digital world.

Formalising Accreditation

To support GDA accredited assurance reviewers, and the organisations they provide assurance to, we have introduced the annual CPD re-accreditation program for assurance professionals, along with an evidence based, bi-annual re-accreditation program for assurance master’s. The re-accreditation program ensures that assurance reviewers remain up to date with digital assurance best practices, while continuing to prove their assurance review capabilities and refreshing their assurance techniques, so as to maintain their GDA issued digital badge and accreditations.

Supporting Assurance Professionals

We just didn’t stop at user friendly, on-demand and highly cost effective training and accreditation programs. We provide accredited assurance reviewers with access to a wealth of agile, digital and assurance knowledge, continuous professional development opportunities and optional inclusion to securely make your pertinent reviewer experience information accessible to the government agencies who organise digital assurance reviews.

Accessible and Cost Effective Training

Until now, modern and on-demand assurance training and accreditation was unavailable to the wider assurance community. Organisations were unable to verify assurance credentials, and assurance review professionals were unable to access cost effective and readily available assurance training, that recognised their assurance reviewer capabilities.

Through 27 years of in-house experience and the contribution of industry leading assurance, agile, program and project professionals, GDA has delivered the world’s most comprehensive, best practice, on-demand assurance training courses and accreditations. Readily available through any internet enabled browser, delivered at a pace, time and place that suits you most. No more classrooms, no more costly downtime and no more waiting for sessions in your region, we have made assurance reviewer accreditation agile, fast and effective.

Accredited and Verified Reviewers

With the largest accredited assurance reviewer database currently available, GDA provides governments and approved organisations with a simple, effective and a highly manageable solution for assurance reviewer selection and administration, via our ‘Assurance Reviewer Management System‘ (ARMS).

With automated reviewer accreditation updates, real time alerts to changes, certified security and data protection and the ability to customise databases to meet statutory and regulatory requirements. The GDA client dashboards remove the need for expensive panel procurement and database administration, all whilst having access to the world’s only database of accredited and annually verified agile and gated assurance review professionals.