AI is now inside most projects whether the steering committee knows it or not. Governance has not caught up. These are the questions we coach boards and steering committees to ask, and what a good answer sounds like.
1. Where is AI being used on this project?
A good answer is a short list with owners. A worrying answer is “I would have to check”.
2. What data is going into it?
A good answer names the approved platform and the classification of data permitted. A worrying answer involves personal accounts.
3. Who reviews AI output before it is relied on?
A good answer names a role and a step in the process. A worrying answer is “the project manager reads everything”, because nobody reads everything.
4. What has it got wrong so far?
A good answer has examples and what changed as a result. A worrying answer is “nothing”. Every system is sometimes wrong, and a team that has not noticed is not looking.
5. What decisions are off limits to automation?
A good answer lists them: anything involving people, money above a threshold, regulators, safety. A worrying answer is a shrug.
6. How would we know if the reporting is being generated rather than written?
A good answer is “it is generated, here is the review step, and here is the what-changed line that a person confirms”. A worrying answer is a defensive one.
7. What would we do if the platform disappeared tomorrow?
A good answer is a short continuity plan. A worrying answer reveals that the project has become dependent on something nobody controls.
Our AI Use Policy template for project teams covers all seven, in two pages, with worked examples.
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