Readiness and Stage-Gate Templates — Operating Quantum Computers

This appendix provides reusable templates for readiness reviews, gate decisions, risk-adjusted funding, and adoption playbooks.

Readiness packet template

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Readiness packet template · Figure 1

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flowchart TB
    Packet[Readiness packet] --> Summary[One-page summary]
    Packet --> Scope[Scope and exclusions]
    Packet --> Evidence[Evidence inventory]
    Packet --> Risks[Risk register]
    Packet --> Cost[Cost estimate]
    Packet --> Decision[Requested decision]

Field	Required content
workload name	stable identifier
maturity level	current readiness level
requested gate	gate being reviewed
classical baseline	baseline method and owner
target profile	simulator, QPU, provider, or lab stack
evidence links	manifests, result distributions, notebooks, review notes
risks	top risks and mitigations
cost	historical and projected spend
decision requested	advance, constrain, defer, pivot, or kill

Gate decision record

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Gate decision record · Figure 2

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sequenceDiagram
    participant Submitter
    participant Board
    participant Recorder
    Submitter->>Board: present packet
    Board->>Board: review evidence and gaps
    Board-->>Recorder: decision and conditions
    Recorder-->>Submitter: decision record

Illustrative listing · yaml

gate_decision:
  id: qgate-0001
  workload: workload-name
  gate: hardware-evidence-readiness
  decision: approve_with_constraints
  constraints:
    - only valid on target family X
    - expires after 60 days or target compiler upgrade
  required_followups:
    - owner: evidence-lead
      action: add replication run
      due: 2026-06-01

Readiness scoring rubric

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Readiness scoring rubric · Figure 3

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flowchart LR
    Score[Readiness score] --> Problem[Problem]
    Score --> Algorithm[Algorithm]
    Score --> Hardware[Hardware]
    Score --> Evidence[Evidence]
    Score --> Cost[Cost]
    Score --> Support[Support]

Score	Meaning
0	not assessed
1	exploratory
2	demonstrated in controlled setting
3	repeatable with known constraints
4	governed and supportable
5	production-grade for the declared scope

Risk-adjusted funding request

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Risk-adjusted funding request · Figure 4

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flowchart TB
    Request[Funding request] --> Objective[Decision enabled]
    Request --> Cost[Cost]
    Request --> Uncertainty[Uncertainty reduced]
    Request --> Alternatives[Alternatives]
    Request --> Stop[Stop condition]

Illustrative listing · yaml

funding_request:
  objective: reduce provider-risk uncertainty for workload family A
  amount: 75000
  duration_days: 45
  expected_decision: choose primary provider or exit workload
  alternatives:
    - continue simulation only
    - defer until target generation changes
  kill_condition: no statistically useful improvement over baseline

Industry playbook skeleton

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Industry playbook skeleton · Figure 5

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flowchart LR
    Industry[Industry] --> Risks[Risks]
    Industry --> UseCases[Use cases]
    Industry --> Gates[Gates]
    Industry --> Owners[Owners]
    Industry --> Metrics[Metrics]

Use this skeleton for finance, pharma, materials, logistics, energy, telecom, aerospace, or public-sector variants.