Governance you can evidence, not just describe
Governance fails when it lives in documents nobody updates. Pocket PMO holds stage gates, RAID, change control, baselines, decisions and scope approval as real records with history, so an assurance review gets evidence rather than recollection.
Stage gates with evidence
Gate criteria, attached evidence and an approver, recorded at the point of decision.
Change control
Raise, assess impact, route for approval and record the outcome against the baseline.
Baselines and variance
Compare where you are against what you committed, with the movement explained.
Decision log
Who decided what, when, on what basis — retrievable months later.
Depth you switch on
Every project has the full toolkit available; optional areas stay switched off until the work needs them, with one reporting standard throughout.
Complete audit trail
Every change attributed and timestamped, with role-based access and MFA available.
What "governance" should mean in practice
Governance is not paperwork for its own sake. It is the ability to answer four questions credibly: was this the right thing to do, did the right person approve it, what changed since then, and what did we learn. Each needs a record, not a memory.
- Approval — scope, budget and change approved by a named person at a point in time.
- Control — a baseline to measure against, and a route for changing it deliberately.
- Transparency — the same health definition applied everywhere.
- Assurance — gate criteria met and evidenced before the project proceeds.
- Learning — lessons captured and available to the next project, not buried in a closure deck.
Lean governance, on purpose
Heavy governance applied to a two-week piece of work destroys goodwill. A short setup wizard sets the level per project: Light shows only what a small project needs; Full turns on stage gates, baselines, benefits, scope approval, contracts and quality roll-up. Both report into the same portfolio view, so the standard holds either way.
Where the AI helps without taking over
The AI drafts the artefacts governance forums ask for — charters, business cases, change impact assessments, closure reports — from the project record, and proposes RAID items from delivery signals. Every one is a draft until an accountable person approves it, which is the only way AI output belongs in a governance pack.
See the AI PMO tool page for the approval model, and security for access control detail.
Coming from Smartsheet?
Many PMOs run governance in Smartsheet: a risk sheet, a RAG formula, a dashboard someone maintains. That works, but the methodology lives in workbooks you own. Pocket PMO ships RAID, stage gates, baselines and board reporting as features, so there is nothing to rebuild when the person who set it up moves on. If you need spreadsheet formulas, Smartsheet is the better fit. Our Pocket PMO vs Smartsheet comparison sets out both sides honestly.
Start with the registers you already need
Free templates for a RAID log, risk register, change request and lessons learned mirror the in-app records, so moving from paper to platform is not a re-learn. Or explore governance depth in the sandbox.
Frequently asked questions
What is project governance software?
Software that holds the control and assurance layer of delivery as records rather than documents: stage gates, RAID, change control, baselines, decisions, scope approval and an audit trail showing who approved what and when.
Is it too heavy for small projects?
No. A new project opens with a short menu — summary, plan, documents, health, scope, RAID and budget — and gates, baselines and benefits stay switched off until you turn them on per project. Small work stays simple and still reports into the same portfolio view.
Does it support stage gates and approvals?
Yes. Gates carry criteria, attached evidence and a named approver, and the approval is recorded with a timestamp.
Can we evidence decisions for an audit?
Yes. Decisions, changes and approvals are held as records with full history, and registers export to CSV for an auditor.
How is access controlled?
Role-based access per organisation, optional MFA, a 30-minute inactivity session policy and an audit log of every change.
See Pocket PMO in action
Try the interactive demo or start a free 1 project free forever — cancel anytime.