I’ve been a project manager for about 10 years now, across five very different industries, and one thing that has been surprisingly consistent everywhere I’ve worked is the lack of real project governance. We all talk about it, but in practice it usually ends up being scattered documents, siloed approvals, unclear phase gates, and a whole lot of “we’ll fix it later.”
I’m currently talking to PMs to better understand what governance pain points they’re dealing with today. I’m especially curious about:
- How phase gates are handled (if at all)
- How teams track changes to budgets/timelines/requirements
- Whether risk visibility actually influences decision-making
- How PMO expectations differ from what tools actually support
- How teams enforce accountability without slowing everyone down
- And honestly—how often governance becomes “busywork” instead of a helpful framework
From my experience, the gap usually isn’t the methodology—it’s that most tools don’t support practical governance, and most PMs end up duct-taping spreadsheets, Confluence pages, and manual approvals.
If you’re willing, I’d really love to hear what challenges you see with governance in your projects or organisations. What slows you down? What’s missing from current tools? What would make governance feel more like support instead of policing?
Not trying to sell anything—just speaking as someone who has felt the pain for years and is trying to validate whether others see the same patterns. Appreciate any insights!
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