The Governance Cadence defines the standing rhythm for how the AI Task Force and related governance bodies manage AI across the full lifecycle — Concept, Build, Deploy, Operate, Sunset. For each lifecycle stage, the Cadence specifies:
- Standing committee agenda items
- Required gate evidence and checklists
- Quorum expectations
- Minimum review frequency
At corpus scale, this rhythm is executed through the Governance Operating Cadence (GOV-15) module.
Key lifecycle applications
- Concept → Build
- Concept intake requires a defined gate authority and a completed evidence checklist before any Build approval can be issued.
- Operate (Quarterly Review)
- Evidence Register currency check (are controls and artifacts up to date?)
- ROAI 4-Category scorecard (return-on-AI assessment across four defined dimensions)
- Agentic Tier register update (confirm or adjust the autonomy/agentic tier of systems)
- Variance framework decision (approve, reject, or remediate deviations from standard policy or controls)
- Sunset
- Post-mortem minutes (documented lessons learned and incident/impact review)
- Capability Portfolio decommission entry (formal removal from the active capability portfolio)
Why the Cadence matters
Any function with a documented Governance Cadence — even a lightweight one — is in a categorically stronger position than a function relying on ad hoc or one-off reviews. The Cadence:
- Creates predictable, auditable decision points across the AI lifecycle
- Ensures evidence-based approvals and periodic reassessment
- Reduces governance gaps that arise from informal or irregular review practices
As it runs, the Cadence produces:
- DE-4 (Governance posture) records
- DE-5 (Continuous learning) records
These outputs feed into the DPS quarterly governance section, providing traceable evidence of governance maturity and a structured mechanism for continuous improvement.
A documented Governance Cadence transforms AI oversight from ad hoc review into a repeatable, evidence-based operating system that spans Concept through Sunset and continuously updates the organization’s governance posture and learning records.