Significant Project Risk is often generated after a plan is approved, not during planning. While a locked schedule and agreed budget provide comfort, real danger arises from small, seemingly reasonable decisions—like scope changes or sequencing tweaks—that drift the project from its baseline. The core issue is not change itself, but change without ownership.

When accountability does not evolve with the plan, risk compounds quietly, leaving the project compliant in appearance but uncontrolled in reality. This drift is a major threat to Project Management success. Ben Webb, AIPM Australian Project Manager of the Year (2022), argues that experienced managers treat the approved plan as a live contract. They demand to know who owns the consequence of every deviation.

This mindset separates healthy adaptation from dangerous drift. For stakeholders, this means that green status reports can mask a lack of control. The implication is a need for rigorous change governance where accountability is explicitly transferred with every modification, preventing projects from unraveling slowly after the hard work of planning is complete.