Governance

Governance is not a document. It is a property of how an organisation operates.

The distinction matters. Most organisations have governance documentation — policies, frameworks, accountability charts. Fewer have governance that is active: standards being applied, owners being accountable, decisions being made within defined parameters, and evidence that all of this is happening continuously rather than for audit purposes.

The gap between documented governance and operating governance is where technical risk lives.

Governance — governance is not a document; it is a property of how an organisation operates. The distinction matters: most organisations have governance documentation — policies, frameworks, accountability charts — but fewer have governance that is active, meaning standards being applied, owners being accountable, decisions being made within defined parameters, and evidence that all of this is happening continuously rather than for audit purposes. The gap between documented governance and operating governance is where technical risk lives. What technical governance covers, across three interconnected areas: 1. Decision Governance (how technical decisions are made — who has authority to make which decisions, what criteria decisions must meet, and how decisions are recorded and communicated; without it, technical direction is determined by whoever is most senior in the room, most confident, or most persistent, rather than by a considered framework). 2. Data Governance (how data is defined, owned and managed — who is accountable for data quality, how conflicts between data sources are resolved, and what standards data must meet; this is the most commercially significant form of technical governance for most organisations). 3. Standards Governance (how technical standards are defined, communicated and enforced — coding standards, architecture standards, API standards, security standards; standards that are not enforced are aspirations). The approach: every governance engagement starts with the data model, because data governance is the most material form of governance for most businesses — and the most revealing, since how an organisation governs its data reflects how it governs its technical function overall. Governance is active when standards are applied, owners are accountable, decisions are made, and evidence is continuous.

What technical governance covers

Governance in a technical context covers three interconnected areas.

Decision governance. How technical decisions are made. Who has authority to make which decisions. What criteria decisions must meet. How decisions are recorded and communicated. Without decision governance, technical direction is determined by whoever is most senior in the room, most confident, or most persistent — not by a considered framework.

Data governance. How data is defined, owned, and managed. Who is accountable for data quality. How conflicts between data sources are resolved. What standards data must meet. Data governance is the most commercially significant form of technical governance for most organisations.

Standards governance. How technical standards are defined, communicated, and enforced. Coding standards, architecture standards, API standards, security standards. Standards that are not enforced are aspirations.

The approach

Every governance engagement starts with the data model. Data governance is the most material form of governance for most businesses — and the most revealing. How an organisation governs its data reflects how it governs its technical function overall.

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