Governance

Intro

Governance is the set of structures, processes, and decision rights that direct and control how an organization operates. In enterprise architecture (EA), it ensures alignment, accountability, and consistent change across business, data, applications, and technology.

Key points:

• Clarifies roles, responsibilities, and decision-making.
• Improves compliance and risk management.
• Common use cases across EA/BPM/Data/App/Tech: architecture review boards, standards management, portfolio decisions, and change approvals.
• Pitfall to avoid: overly rigid controls that slow delivery and reduce adoption.

Examples:

• An architecture governance board evaluates solution designs against principles.
• Data governance defines stewardship and quality rules for critical datasets.
• Technology governance sets platform standards and lifecycle policies.

In practice:

Start with lightweight policies and clear decision rights, then evolve as maturity grows.

Related terms: Architecture Governance; Architecture Principles; Architecture Framework

FAQs:

Q: Who participates in governance?
A: Executives, architects, product owners, and domain leaders.

Q: How does governance relate to EA?
A: It provides the rules and processes that keep architecture aligned with strategy.

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