Is the mirage of the “sign off” still with us?

In 2009, I made this complaint:

I get tired of the phrase “signing off on requirements” as it pertains to building software. The simple act itself I have no problem with. The problem is when bureaucrats get so wrapped up in signing off and hedging risk that the project actually succeeding takes a back seat.

In my view, there is always a role to play for approving/getting buy-in for a particular decision/deployment. With a document/page, particularly one that describes software requirements though, much like home ownership, you are never really done. Something can always be better. The best possible understanding of what the system should do is always evolving. The same can be said about support content, knowledge base content, etc.

My personal observation is that, since 2009, we’ve improved in this area a little bit but still have some way to go.