Automation governance: who decides, checks and maintains?
Governance is the decision system around Automation: who may decide what, who accepts risk and how does the solution remain manageable after go-live?
In short
Automation governance means agreeing who makes decisions about an automation and who maintains it. Define who owns the process and technology, which risks are acceptable, what counts as a good enough result and who handles failures or changes. Review at agreed intervals whether the solution still does what is needed.
Six decision points that should be demonstrable
- 01
Intake
Problem, objective, owner and simpler alternatives.
- 02
Assessment
Process fit, risk, architecture and rationale.
- 03
Build and test
Version control, peer review, test data and acceptance.
- 04
Go-live
Monitoring, access, recovery, communication and operating guide.
- 05
Review
Value, incidents, changes, compliance and technical debt.
- 06
Retirement
Remove data, access, dependencies and documentation safely.
A portfolio needs more than counts
- solutions without an active process owner
- changes without renewed acceptance
- incidents without a recognisable recovery route
- automations that continue without demonstrable value