Manual sections
5. The Governance Accelerator
Gates & Change Forums
Flow-protection checkpoints and the rules of scope adjustment.
Gates are not control points. They are flow-protection moments designed to prevent rework, churn, and unnecessary disruption.
Gate Checkpoints
| Stage | Gate | Purpose | Approver |
|---|---|---|---|
| POC | Feasibility Gate | "Can we build it?" | Arch Lead / Tech Lead |
| Pilot | Behavior Gate | "Does it work right?" | Scope Lead / PO |
| MVP | Value Gate | "Is it valuable?" | Sponsor |
| V1 | Operational Gate | "Is it stable?" | Ops / Platform Lead |
The Change Forum Structure
The Change Forum is the alignment gate for all significant scope shifts. It is not bureaucracy. It is protection. It prevents chaos disguised as urgency.
Tone:Trade-offs must be explicit, owned, and documented.
Forum Triggers
- Scope increase or decrease
- Resource or timeline changes
- Boundary or dependency shifts
- Risk reclassification
Forum Rules
- No 'informal' approvals.
- All decisions logged in the OS.
- No architecture changes without Arch sign-off.
- No tech debt without Eng Lead approval.
The Zero-Sum Rule
No scope change is allowed without a trade-off. If you want to add Scope X, you must drop or shift Scope Y.