It started reasonably. A deadline, a low-risk case, a one-time bypass of the review gate signed off by someone senior. Six months later the bypass was the default path and the gate was decorative. Nobody decided this; it accreted, one reasonable exception at a time.
This is why governance has to live in the runtime, not in a policy. A policy bends under deadline pressure. A gate compiled into the system does not have a fast lane to offer, so the pressure has nowhere to push.
How exceptions metastasize
- A reasonable one-time bypass is granted under deadline.
- The bypass is faster, so it is reached for again.
- The gate becomes decorative — governance in name only.
The takeaway
If your governance can grant a fast lane, the fast lane becomes the road. Put the gate where it cannot be bypassed.