Which date belongs in the commissioning brief?
Check the evidence cutoff before you give the customer a date.
The question
You prepare a commissioning brief for a transmission project in England. The network owner provides the slot. An appointed reviewer accepts the evidence pack.
| Week | |
|---|---|
| Signed vendor report due | 5 |
| Network evidence due | 6 |
| Evidence acceptance cutoff | 7 |
| First slot | 8 |
Each evidence deadline is at the end of its week. The reviewer needs one full week after receiving both records.
“Can the team plan for week 8? State which evidence controls the date.”
Not saved by this site. Your browser may restore text when you navigate back.
A strong answer, step by step
Open each step in turn. This is one strong answer, not the only one.
Step 1: Find the later record
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Plan for the evidence pack review after week 6.
The strong move. The review begins when the later of the two required records arrives.
Start the review clock when the vendor report arrives in week 5.
Tempting, but it misses something. The network evidence arrives a week later and is also required.
See how a strong candidate says it
“The network evidence comes last at the end of week 6. I’d track both records by owner and plan the review after both are in.”
Why it works: The review begins when the later of the two required records arrives.
Step 2: Check the first window
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Use week 8 as conditional on acceptance by the end of week 7.
The strong move. The original forecast has zero weeks of slack before the cutoff.
Confirm week 8 because the documents arrive before it.
Tempting, but it misses something. Document arrival starts the review. The accepted pack still has to meet the cutoff.
See how a strong candidate says it
“The review takes one week, so the pack could be accepted at the end of week 7. That meets the cutoff exactly. I’d keep week 8 conditional and watch both records.”
Why it works: The original forecast has zero weeks of slack before the cutoff.
Step 3: Recalculate after the slip
The vendor moves its signed report to the end of week 8. The network owner offers week 11 as the next possible slot, with accepted evidence due at the end of week 10.
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Remove week 8 and ask the network owner to hold the week-11 option.
The strong move. One full week after the week-8 report puts acceptance in week 9. The alternate cutoff is at the end of week 10.
Keep week 8 and ask the reviewer to accept the pack as soon as the report arrives.
Tempting, but it misses something. The report arrives after the first cutoff. The pack still needs its full review.
See how a strong candidate says it
“The vendor report now controls the date. The pack could be accepted at the end of week 9, two weeks past the first cutoff. The week-11 option gives us one week between the forecast and its cutoff.”
Why it works: One full week after the week-8 report puts acceptance in week 9. The alternate cutoff is at the end of week 10.
Step 4: Update the delivery brief
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Give the customer the provisional date, evidence owner and next confirmation.
The strong move. Each team can see the new option and the evidence still due.
Tell the customer week 11 is confirmed when the option appears.
Tempting, but it misses something. The network owner offered a possible slot. The reviewer has yet to accept the pack.
See how a strong candidate says it
“I’d show week 11 as provisional, three weeks after the first slot. I’d tell the customer and delivery team which report moved, who accepts the pack and when the network owner can confirm the date.”
Why it works: Each team can see the new option and the evidence still due.
The answer, in short
- Decision
- Use week 11 as the provisional option and get the network owner’s confirmation.
- Because
- The pack is forecast for week 9, past the week-7 cutoff and before the week-10 cutoff.
- What would change it
- A further evidence delay could take the plan past the alternate cutoff. Check with the reviewer and network owner.
Common traps
- Using the date a document arrives as the date the pack is accepted.
- Calling a slot confirmed before the evidence clears.
Check your answer
- I identified the last required record.
- I allowed a full week for review.
- I checked the new cutoff.
- I gave the customer an owner and a conditional date.
Last reviewed Nov 11, 2026