2. The Governance Lens

Card vs. Charter

Choosing the right depth for the work.

Do not over-engineer simple work. Do not under-document systemic risk. The OS automatically recommends the right depth based on your inputs.

The Scope Card (Minimal but Safe)

The Scope Card is designed for high-trust, low-complexity, and internally constrained initiatives. It requires minimal overhead but still enforces the DoR and DoD.

  • Single-team execution (No cross-functional dependencies).
  • Low or zero regulatory impact.
  • Well-understood, highly mature problem space.

The Scope Charter (Deep & Cross-Functional)

The Scope Charter is the heavy-duty alignment artifact. It is required when the blast radius of failure extends beyond a single team. It forces explicit architectural alignment and executive sponsorship.

  • Multiple cross-team dependencies.
  • High novelty or boundary risk.
  • Significant capital expenditure requiring C-Suite sign-off.
Override Protocol
If the AI Auditor recommends a Charter, but you manually downgrade to a Scope Card, the OS flags this as a Deviation. You must explicitly name a Risk Owner and provide a written justification to proceed.