This paper examines the boundaries of project controls throughout the project life-cycle on construction projects. The researcher evaluates the factors contributing to the success and failures of projects, as well as identifies what project control mechanisms are currently being used in the construction industry to control projects throughout the project life-cycle. The details of the study reveal that although efforts have been made to control projects in various aspects of the construction project life-cycle, however these control mechanisms seem to be mis-jointed and scattered amongst construction professionals, and do not effectively work to address project controls, but only take effect after issues appear in a project. With the absence of a clearly defined structure to adopt project control mechanisms throughout the project life-cycle, this poses a clear gap in research towards improving construction project performance that satisfies the key stakeholders of the project. Thus, this paper proposes the development of a smart project controls framework model that would facilitate effective control of the activities identified throughout the project life-cycle, whereby the role of project controls becomes well defined within each stage of the project to ensure more sustainable project outcomes.