Set up gate reviewers for proposals

By default, any reviewer with governance rights can move a proposal through a gate. Gate reviewers replace that with a named panel per gate: every designated reviewer gets an approval request, and the proposal advances only when the panel agrees.

How quorum works

• Any rejection sends the proposal back, immediately.
• All approvals advance it to the next stage.
• Anything in between leaves it pending, and reviewers see it in their approval inbox until they decide.

Tip

Reviewers do not need governance permissions in the matrix. Designating someone as a gate reviewer is enough, which lets you pull in a subject matter expert for one gate without widening their role.

Designate the reviewers

1. Open Organization Settings and go to the Governance tab, then the Gate Reviewers section.

2. Pick the gate to configure: Proposal Review, Business Case Review, or Plan Review.

3. Search for the people to add. The picker shows each person’s organization role so you can see at a glance who you are designating.

4. Add as many reviewers as the gate needs. Each becomes a required approval for every proposal that reaches this gate from now on.

What reviewers see

When a proposal enters a gate with designated reviewers, each panel member gets a notification and a pending item in their approval inbox (the badge on Governance in the sidebar). They review the proposal, score it against the gate’s evaluation criteria, and approve or reject.

Best practices

1. Pick reviewer panels per gate, not the same panel everywhere. Proposal Review benefits from executive sponsors; Business Case Review benefits from Finance; Plan Review benefits from delivery leads. Same-panel-everywhere makes gates indistinguishable; different panels make each gate meaningful.
2. Keep panels small, 3 to 5 reviewers. Two is too few (one absence stalls the gate); seven is too many (consensus takes weeks). Three plus a backup is the sweet spot.
3. Designate by name, not by role. Even though org-tier reviewers (PMs, Admins) can review without designation, naming specific people is what makes the panel meaningful. “Three Portfolio Managers” means none of them feels ownership; “Sara, Marcus, and Priya” means three people who know they’re on the hook.
4. Use MEMBER-role designated reviewers for subject matter expertise. Reviewers don’t need governance permissions in the matrix, the designation alone grants review access for that gate. Use this to bring in domain experts (legal, security, compliance) without widening their org role.
5. Rotate reviewers quarterly to spread the load. Permanent panels burn out their members; quarterly rotation distributes work and brings in fresh perspectives. Document the rotation in a wiki so incoming reviewers know what they signed up for.

Troubleshooting / common pitfalls

• The reviewer I added can’t see proposals. Three causes: (a) the proposal hasn’t reached that gate yet, designation only applies once it does; (b) the reviewer was added AFTER the proposal already entered the gate (existing reviews are preserved, new reviewers only apply to future proposals); (c) the reviewer is deactivated.
• My panel never reaches quorum. Quorum requires ALL designated reviewers to approve. If one consistently delays, either remove them or shrink the panel. The system won’t auto-skip a reviewer unless they’re deactivated.
• A deactivated reviewer is blocking a gate. Deactivated members are skipped from quorum automatically. If a gate seems stuck, check whether a reviewer was deactivated since their pending request, the system should have re-computed; if not, refresh, then escalate.
• My added reviewer doesn’t see the approval-request notification. Two causes: (a) the reviewer disabled approval notifications in their personal preferences; (b) the proposal hasn’t yet entered the gate. Designated reviewers get notifications ONLY at the gate they’re designated for.
• I want a “backup” reviewer who decides only if primary doesn’t. Not natively. The closest pattern: keep the panel small, and if a primary reviewer is OOO, an Owner/Admin can record the decision as a break-glass override (this writes an audit row).

How this combines with other features

• Gate reviewers + Evaluation criteria. Each gate’s panel scores against that gate’s criteria. The combination defines the rigor of the gate. See Configure evaluation criteria.
• Gate reviewers + Pipeline. Designated panels enforce who reviews at each gate. Without them, any Portfolio Manager can decide; with them, only the panel can (modulo Owner/Admin break-glass). See Understand the proposal pipeline.
• Gate reviewers + Member deactivation. Deactivated reviewers are skipped from quorum automatically. This prevents gates from getting stuck waiting on someone who can no longer sign in.
• Gate reviewers + Audit log. Designation, un-designation, and every review submission go to the audit log, useful for compliance proof. See Read audit logs.

Coming from another tool

Tool	Mapping
MS Project Online	Workflow stages have designated reviewers; same pattern
ServiceNow Approval Groups	Direct concept; quorum models are similar
Spreadsheet routed by email	Onplana replaces this with an in-app inbox + auditable trail
Jira “Reviewers” custom field	Closest analog; Jira lacks quorum and the gate-by-gate model
Smartsheet Approvals	Similar; Smartsheet’s approval routing ≈ Onplana’s gate panel

FAQs

What happens to proposals already in review when I change the panel? Existing approval requests are preserved; new reviewers are added to future proposals entering the gate.

Can a deactivated member block a gate? No. Reviewers deactivated by your identity provider are skipped when quorum is calculated, so a panel never waits on someone who can no longer sign in.

Who can manage gate reviewers? Organization owners and admins. Managers can conduct reviews but cannot change the panel.

Can the same person be on multiple gate panels? Yes. A senior PM might be on all three gates; a subject expert might be on just one. No restriction on cross-gate membership.

Does adding a reviewer notify them? Yes, newly designated reviewers get an in-app notification (“you have been designated as a reviewer for Proposal Review”). They also see the gate’s pending proposals in their approval inbox.

Can I have different panels for high-risk vs low-risk proposals? Not natively today. The closest pattern: rely on org-tier reviewers (no designated panel) for low-risk, and configure designated panels for the gates where high-risk proposals get tighter scrutiny.

What happens if a designated reviewer leaves the org? The reviewer is automatically un-designated when removed from the org. Pending approvals remain; ANY rejection still rejects, ALL remaining-active approvals advance.

Related

• Review a gate, what the designated reviewer does
• Configure evaluation criteria, what they score against
• Understand the proposal pipeline, where gates sit in the flow