Can a Go No Go Act be signed electronically?

Yes. Electronic signatures are legally valid under the ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. ch. 96) and UETA in most states when intent, consent, attribution, and reliable retention are present; however, confirm any industry-specific requirements before relying on basic email-only authentication.

What signer authentication level is appropriate?

Select authentication based on risk: email-only for low-risk approvals, SMS or MFA for medium risk, and stronger checks (KBA or enterprise SSO) for decisions affecting contracts, finances, or regulated data.

Do I need a notary or witnesses?

Most Go No Go Acts do not legally require notarization, but state or contract-specific rules can require notarized or witnessed signatures for related documents; verify obligations in states where deeds, durable POAs, or statutory forms are involved.

How should conditions be recorded?

Record each condition with a clear owner, due date, and acceptance criteria. Attach evidence fields and require re-evaluation signatures when conditions are met to close the loop.

How long must signed Acts be retained?

Retain signed Acts for the project lifecycle plus applicable statutory periods: at least three years for financial records (IRC §6501(a)), six years for HIPAA-related records (45 CFR §164.530(j)), and longer where state law or audit requirements apply.

What if signers change after approval?

Document a delegation or re-authorization on the project record and have the new authorized party co-sign or countersign an amendment to the original Act to preserve chain of custody for governance and audit purposes.

Electronic Signature
Templates
Project Management
Project Management Go No Go Act

Project Management Go No Go Act

This template is fully customizable. Edit the text, fill out the fields, and send it for signature. Give it a try!

PROJECT MANAGEMENT GO NO GO ACT

Project Identification

Project Title Project ID Client Name Service Provider Project Manager (Provider)

Date of Review: Phase / Stage under review: Location or forum:

Purpose and Authority

This Go No Go Act documents the formal decision whether the project or specified phase shall proceed to the next contractual milestone or deployment. The parties acknowledge that this decision is made pursuant to the contract between Client and Service Provider, applicable project governance, and the acceptance criteria set forth below. The authorized representatives signing this instrument certify that the facts reported herein are accurate to the best of their knowledge and that the decision shall be entered into the project record and acted upon by both parties.

Decision Criteria — Confirmation of Completion

Mark each criterion as satisfied where applicable. All criteria designated as mandatory for this review must be satisfied for a Go decision unless specific waivers are documented below.

Scope of Work completed as defined in the governing SOW
Required deliverables produced and delivered for review
Acceptance testing passed against agreed criteria
Budget and cost forecasts within approved tolerance
High and critical risks mitigated or accepted with plan
Regulatory, security and compliance checks signed off
Key stakeholder approvals obtained
Required resources and personnel committed and scheduled

Summary of Findings

Executive Summary of Readiness Outstanding Issues and Required Actions

Deliverables and Acceptance Criteria

List of Deliverables with Acceptance Criteria and Status

Timeline and Milestones

Project Start Date: Proposed Go Date:

Remaining Milestones and Target Dates

Budget, Payments and Change Orders

Total Approved Budget Spent to Date Remaining Budget / Forecast Change Order Process / Required Approvals

Risk Assessment and Contingency

Summary of Key Risks and Contingency Plans

Decision Recommendation

Recommendation (select one):
Proceed — GO
Do Not Proceed — NO GO

Rationale for Recommendation

Legal and Administrative Clauses

Confidentiality: Each party shall maintain in confidence all non-public information disclosed in connection with this Go No Go Act and shall use such information solely for the performance of their obligations under the governing agreement.

Representations: Each signatory represents and warrants that they are duly authorized to bind the party for which they sign and that all information contained in this document is true and complete to the best of their knowledge.

Change Control: Any deviation from a Go decision that requires alteration of scope, schedule or budget shall be managed through the change order process described above and executed in writing by the authorized representatives of both parties prior to implementation.

Indemnity and Liability: Each party shall indemnify the other for losses arising from that party's gross negligence or willful misconduct in connection with the matters addressed by this Act. Except as required by applicable law, neither party shall be liable for consequential damages arising solely from the Go/No Go decision absent material breach of contract.

Governing Law: This Go No Go Act shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction specified in the governing contract and shall be interpreted without regard to conflict of law principles.

Survival: Provisions intended to survive termination or completion of the project, including confidentiality, indemnity and governing law, shall survive execution of this Act.

Administrative Approvals

Approving Sponsor (Client) Approving Sponsor (Provider)

Client Name:

By:

Date:

Service Provider Name:

By:

Date:

What the Project Management Go No Go Act Is and where it fits

The Project Management Go No Go Act is a formal decision document used to record a project's readiness at a predefined gateway and to authorize either continuation or termination. It captures key criteria—scope, schedule, budget, risk, resource availability, and compliance items—and documents approvals from authorized stakeholders. Organizations use the Act to create an auditable record of the evaluation, the decision rationale, and any conditions applied to a go decision or items needing remediation after a no-go. It is typically used at major phase transitions or before high-cost execution steps.

Why a formal Go/No-Go Act adds value

A written Go No Go Act reduces ambiguity by documenting objective criteria, stakeholder approvals, and required mitigations, improving governance and accountability across project delivery.

Which roles typically complete and sign the Act

Collecting signatures from these roles ensures the decision reflects both strategic and operational perspectives and creates a defensible audit trail.

Project Sponsor — Provides executive approval and confirms alignment with strategic objectives and available funding.
Project Manager — Supplies technical readiness, schedule details, risk register summary, and resource commitments.
Functional Leads — Validate operational readiness, compliance, procurement, and deployment plans where applicable.

Step-by-step: completing a Go No Go Act

Follow these steps in order to gather inputs, evaluate readiness, and finalize a documented decision.

01

Prepare packet: Assemble scope, schedule, budget, risk register, and vendor/contract summaries.
02

Evaluate criteria: Compare actuals to thresholds and note variances with supporting evidence.
03

Document conditions: Record remediation items, owners, and completion dates if a conditional go is considered.
04

Obtain approvals: Collect required signatures and publish the signed Act to the project record.

Set up a digital Go No Go workflow

Configure routing and fields to automate collection of inputs and signatures for consistent reviews.

Field	Configuration
Gateway Name	Dropdown with standardized gateway options
Approval Order	Role-based sequential routing or parallel routing
Conditional Fields	Show remediation fields when decision = No-Go
Audit Trail	Enable timestamp, IP, and signer attribution recording

Technical considerations for e-submission and signing

Ensure the chosen system can export a tamper-evident signed PDF with a certificate of completion and retain records to meet regulatory or corporate retention policies.

Authentication: Email link, SMS code, or stronger MFA depending on risk
Audit Records: Store timestamps, IP addresses, and action logs
File Formats: Support PDF and DOCX for archiving and future search

Typical digital signing flow for the Go No Go Act

A standard e-sign workflow reduces manual handoffs and speeds decision capture while providing an auditable trail.

Prepare document: Upload Act, map fields, and attach supporting files
Assign signers: Enter signer emails and define signing order
Send for signature: Platform sends secure invites or links to signers
Complete and archive: Collect signatures, generate certificate, and store final PDF

Essential components to include in a professional Go No Go Act

Include the fundamentals below to make the document actionable, auditable, and legally defensible across governance reviews.

Decision summary

A concise statement indicating Go, No-Go, or Conditional Go with the primary reason and one-line outcome summary that reviewers can scan quickly.

Scope confirmation

A clear list of included deliverables and excluded items, tied to baseline documents or change requests so reviewers understand what was evaluated.

Financial position

Budget status showing committed vs. actual spend, variance percentage, and whether contingency is available for remaining work.

Schedule health

Key milestone dates, any critical path issues, and quantified float or delay exposure that would affect the go decision.

Risk and mitigation

Top project risks with current risk rating, mitigation owner, and estimated time to resolve to allow conditional approvals where appropriate.

Approvals and conditions

Named approvers with dates, and any conditions, owner assignments, and required evidence to convert a conditional no-go into a future go.

Security, privacy, and compliance items to confirm

Encryption: TLS 1.2/1.3 in transit

Data at rest: AES-256 encryption

Audit trail: Tamper-evident logs required

HIPAA readiness: BAA as needed for PHI

Regulatory tests: ESIGN and UETA compliance

Certifications: SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001

Risks and consequences of an incomplete or incorrect Act

Scope creep: Uncontrolled changes increase cost

Contract exposure: Breaches may lead to liability

Funding delay: Approvals withheld; work stalls

Regulatory breach: Noncompliance fines possible

Audit findings: Governance exceptions noted

Reputational harm: Stakeholder trust eroded

Common preparation mistakes to avoid

Missing objective metrics — relying on prose rather than quantified scope, cost, or schedule indicators slows reviewers and extends decision cycles.
Incomplete signatory list — omitting required approvers forces re-circulation and invalidates the decision for governance purposes.
Unclear conditions — vague remediation items without owners or due dates lead to missed follow-up and repeated no-go findings.
Detached evidence — failing to attach or reference supporting documents makes verification time-consuming and increases the chance of reversal on audit.

Timing and expected processing steps for a Go No Go Act

Set clear deadlines for packet submission, review, approval, and re-evaluation to keep the gateway decision on schedule.

Packet submission deadline:

Typically 5–10 business days before the scheduled decision meeting

Reviewer turnaround:

Reviewers should respond within 3 business days to avoid delays

Decision meeting:

Hold the formal decision session on the scheduled gateway date

Remediation period:

If conditional, assign a remediation timeline with a date for re-evaluation

Record retention:

Publish signed Act to the project repository within 2 business days

eSignature vendor comparison for executing Go No Go Acts

Compare vendor starting prices and key capabilities for digital signing and compliance; signNow appears first per vendor layout requirements.

	signNow	DocuSign	Adobe Sign	PandaDoc	HelloSign
Starting Price	$8/user/mo	$15/user/mo	$14/user/mo	$19/user/mo	$15/user/mo
Free Trial	7-day free trial, no credit card required	No	No	Yes, limited	Yes, limited
Bulk Send	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Audit Trail	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
HIPAA Compliant	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Envelope Cap	No envelope cap	100 envelopes/user/year	Varies by plan	Varies by plan	Varies by plan

Frequently asked questions about preparing and signing the Go No Go Act

Answers below address common execution, legal validity, and digital signing questions encountered during Go No Go reviews.

Need help? Contact support

Can a Go No Go Act be signed electronically?
Yes. Electronic signatures are legally valid under the ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. ch. 96) and UETA in most states when intent, consent, attribution, and reliable retention are present; however, confirm any industry-specific requirements before relying on basic email-only authentication.
What signer authentication level is appropriate?
Select authentication based on risk: email-only for low-risk approvals, SMS or MFA for medium risk, and stronger checks (KBA or enterprise SSO) for decisions affecting contracts, finances, or regulated data.
Do I need a notary or witnesses?
Most Go No Go Acts do not legally require notarization, but state or contract-specific rules can require notarized or witnessed signatures for related documents; verify obligations in states where deeds, durable POAs, or statutory forms are involved.
How should conditions be recorded?
Record each condition with a clear owner, due date, and acceptance criteria. Attach evidence fields and require re-evaluation signatures when conditions are met to close the loop.
How long must signed Acts be retained?
Retain signed Acts for the project lifecycle plus applicable statutory periods: at least three years for financial records (IRC §6501(a)), six years for HIPAA-related records (45 CFR §164.530(j)), and longer where state law or audit requirements apply.
What if signers change after approval?
Document a delegation or re-authorization on the project record and have the new authorized party co-sign or countersign an amendment to the original Act to preserve chain of custody for governance and audit purposes.

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