AIGO — Governance Schema Documentation
1. Document Purpose
This document describes the machine-readable AIGO Governance Schema. The schema provides the structured representation of an organization’s AI governance arrangement within the AIGO AI Governance Operating Framework. It is intended to support:- governance scope;
- governance objectives;
- governance principles;
- governance authority;
- governance bodies;
- committees;
- governance roles;
- decision authority;
- delegated authority;
- reporting;
- escalation;
- AI system governance;
- classification governance;
- risk governance;
- control governance;
- lifecycle governance;
- human oversight;
- monitoring;
- assurance;
- incident management;
- change management;
- risk acceptance;
- retirement;
- third-party governance;
- regulatory requirements;
- documentation;
- evidence;
- exceptions;
- governance metrics;
- governance maturity;
- management review;
- continual improvement;
- resources;
- competence and training;
- communication;
- governance changes;
- approvals;
- review scheduling; and
- framework traceability.
2. Schema Information
3. Scope
The Governance Schema applies to the organization-level arrangement through which AI activities are governed. It may represent governance at:- enterprise level;
- group level;
- business-unit level;
- functional level;
- program level;
- AI portfolio level; or
- another authorized organizational level.
4. Object Model
The primary object represented by this schema is:- individual AI System records;
- individual Risk records;
- individual Control records;
- Assessments;
- Approvals;
- Monitoring records;
- Incidents;
- Changes;
- Assurance engagements;
- Evidence records;
- Management Reviews;
- Improvements; and
- Retirement records.
5. Governance Record Identity
A Governance record should contain stable identity information. Key fields include:id;objectType;objectVersion;schemaVersion;- governance name;
- governance owner;
- governance scope;
- governance objectives;
- governance structure; and
- status.
6. Governance Status
Governance arrangements may progress through controlled states. Typical conceptual states include:7. Governance Purpose
The governance record should establish why the governance arrangement exists. Its purpose may include:- ensuring accountability for AI;
- establishing decision authority;
- managing AI risk;
- ensuring appropriate controls;
- governing the AI lifecycle;
- protecting affected persons;
- supporting compliance;
- establishing oversight;
- enabling assurance;
- monitoring performance; and
- supporting continual improvement.
8. Governance Scope
The governance scope should clearly identify what is governed. Scope may include:- organizational units;
- business functions;
- jurisdictions;
- geographies;
- AI systems;
- AI-enabled activities;
- lifecycle stages;
- suppliers;
- technologies;
- business processes; and
- excluded activities.
9. Organizational Scope
The governance record may identify:- legal entities;
- subsidiaries;
- business units;
- departments;
- functions;
- programs;
- regions; and
- shared services.
10. Geographic and Jurisdictional Scope
AI governance may differ across jurisdictions. The record should identify applicable:- countries;
- regions;
- legal jurisdictions;
- operating locations; and
- regulatory environments.
11. AI Scope
The governance arrangement should identify which AI systems or AI-enabled activities are subject to governance. The scope may cover:- internally developed AI;
- externally provided AI;
- embedded AI;
- AI-enabled applications;
- generative AI;
- decision-support systems;
- autonomous systems;
- AI services;
- models;
- AI components; and
- other defined AI activities.
12. Exclusions
Organizations may exclude certain activities from scope. Examples may include:- non-AI systems;
- experimental environments;
- personal productivity tools;
- temporary development activities; or
- other defined categories.
13. Governance Authority
Governance authority establishes the basis on which the organization can:- establish requirements;
- assign responsibilities;
- approve decisions;
- require assessments;
- accept risk;
- require remediation;
- suspend operation;
- restrict use; and
- retire systems.
- organizational mandate;
- board resolution;
- policy;
- governance charter;
- delegated authority;
- committee mandate; or
- other controlled source.
14. Authority Level
The governance schema supports authority levels such as:15. Decision Rights
Governance should define decision rights explicitly. Decision rights may include:- system registration;
- classification;
- risk acceptance;
- control exception;
- deployment;
- continued operation;
- material change;
- incident escalation;
- suspension;
- resumption;
- retirement; and
- governance change.
16. Governance Objectives
Governance objectives should describe the outcomes the governance arrangement is intended to achieve. Examples include:- effective AI accountability;
- proportionate risk management;
- reliable decision-making;
- human oversight;
- compliance;
- transparency;
- security;
- privacy;
- safety;
- fairness;
- traceability;
- resilience; and
- continual improvement.
- owner;
- priority;
- target outcome;
- metric; and
- review requirement.
17. Governance Principles
The governance arrangement may identify applicable principles including:- accountability;
- transparency;
- human oversight;
- risk management;
- security;
- privacy;
- fairness;
- safety;
- reliability;
- traceability;
- proportionality;
- continuous improvement;
- sustainability;
- explainability; and
- inclusiveness.
18. Governance Structure
The Governance Schema supports a structured governance hierarchy. A conceptual structure is:19. Governance Bodies
A governance body should identify:- body identifier;
- name;
- purpose;
- authority;
- chair;
- members;
- meeting frequency;
- quorum; and
- decision types.
- AI Governance Committee;
- AI Risk Committee;
- Responsible AI Committee;
- Technology Risk Committee;
- Privacy Committee;
- Security Committee; and
- executive governance bodies.
20. Governance Committees
Committees may be established where governance requires collective decision-making. The committee record should establish:- purpose;
- authority;
- membership;
- chair;
- quorum;
- meeting frequency;
- decision rights;
- escalation; and
- records requirements.
21. Governance Roles
The governance record should identify key roles. Typical roles include:- AI Governance Owner;
- AI System Owner;
- Business Owner;
- Risk Owner;
- Control Owner;
- Technical Owner;
- Security Owner;
- Privacy Owner;
- Assurance Owner;
- Compliance Owner; and
- other organizational roles.
- responsibilities;
- authority;
- accountability;
- escalation path; and
- segregation requirements.
22. Role Accountability
Responsibility and accountability should remain distinguishable. A role may perform a task without being accountable for the governance outcome. The governance model should identify the person or function accountable for decisions and outcomes. This is particularly important for:- risk acceptance;
- system approval;
- material changes;
- incidents;
- exceptions; and
- retirement.
23. Segregation of Duties
Governance should establish segregation where required. Potential separations include:- risk;
- decision significance;
- independence;
- organizational policy; and
- regulatory requirements.
24. Decision Authority
The Governance Schema supports a decision-authority model. Each decision should identify:- decision;
- decision owner;
- required reviews;
- approval authority;
- escalation requirements; and
- applicable conditions.
25. Delegated Authority
Governance may delegate authority. A delegation should identify:- delegator;
- delegate;
- authority type;
- scope;
- conditions;
- limitations;
- effective date; and
- expiry date where applicable.
26. Reporting Structure
Governance reporting should provide appropriate visibility to management and governance bodies. Reporting may include:- AI inventory;
- risk;
- controls;
- monitoring;
- incidents;
- changes;
- assurance;
- accepted risks;
- exceptions;
- maturity;
- improvement; and
- retirement.
27. Escalation Framework
Governance should define escalation criteria. Possible triggers include:- risk above tolerance;
- significant incident;
- critical control failure;
- material regulatory issue;
- major security or privacy issue;
- significant fairness or safety concern;
- material change;
- monitoring threshold breach;
- assurance finding; or
- governance failure.
- criteria;
- authority;
- timeframe; and
- required actions.
28. Emergency Escalation
Emergency escalation should provide a rapid route for situations that cannot wait for ordinary governance cycles. Examples include:- imminent safety harm;
- serious security incident;
- significant privacy incident;
- major AI failure;
- regulatory emergency; or
- uncontrolled high-risk AI operation.
29. AI System Governance
The governance arrangement should define how AI systems are governed across their lifecycle. This may include requirements for:- registration;
- inventory;
- profiling;
- classification;
- risk assessment;
- control implementation;
- approval;
- monitoring;
- assurance;
- change management;
- incident management; and
- retirement.
30. AI Inventory Governance
The organization should maintain an authoritative AI inventory. Governance should identify:- inventory owner;
- inventory location;
- registration requirements;
- review frequency;
- completeness expectations;
- status management; and
- escalation for unregistered AI.
31. Classification Governance
Governance should establish:- classification methodology;
- criteria;
- classification owner;
- approval authority;
- reclassification triggers; and
- review frequency.
- intended purpose;
- affected persons;
- autonomy;
- impact;
- risk;
- data sensitivity;
- safety;
- security;
- privacy;
- jurisdiction; and
- regulatory requirements.
32. Risk Governance
Risk governance should define:- risk methodology;
- risk owner;
- risk appetite;
- risk tolerance;
- assessment frequency;
- escalation thresholds;
- acceptance authority; and
- risk reporting.
33. Control Governance
Control governance should establish:- control framework;
- control ownership;
- assessment frequency;
- critical-control criteria;
- exception authority; and
- monitoring requirements.
34. Lifecycle Governance
Governance should apply throughout the AI lifecycle. Lifecycle stages may include:- Planning
- Design
- Development
- Data Preparation
- Testing and Validation
- Approval
- Deployment
- Operation
- Monitoring
- Change
- Assurance
- Retirement
35. Lifecycle Stage Gates
A stage gate should define:- lifecycle stage;
- required reviews;
- required evidence;
- approval authority; and
- exit criteria.
36. Human Oversight Governance
Governance should establish when human oversight is required. It may define:- oversight model;
- competence;
- authority;
- intervention;
- override;
- escalation;
- review;
- monitoring; and
- restrictions on automated operation.
37. Monitoring Governance
The governance arrangement should define:- monitoring ownership;
- required monitoring categories;
- minimum frequency;
- thresholds;
- escalation;
- enhanced-monitoring triggers; and
- monitoring review.
38. Assurance Governance
Governance should define:- assurance owner;
- assurance types;
- minimum frequency;
- independence requirements;
- follow-up; and
- escalation.
39. Incident Governance
Incident governance should establish:- incident procedure;
- incident owner;
- severity model;
- notification requirements;
- escalation;
- closure requirements; and
- post-incident review.
- risk;
- controls;
- monitoring;
- changes;
- assurance; and
- improvement.
40. Change Governance
Change governance should establish:- change procedure;
- change owner;
- materiality criteria;
- approval authority;
- testing;
- rollback;
- post-implementation validation; and
- monitoring.
41. Risk Acceptance Governance
Governance should define:- when risk acceptance is required;
- acceptance authority;
- conditions;
- expiry;
- review frequency; and
- escalation.
42. Retirement Governance
Governance should establish:- retirement triggers;
- approval authority;
- readiness requirements;
- data disposition;
- closure requirements;
- evidence retention; and
- post-retirement obligations.
43. Third-Party Governance
Where external AI providers are used, governance should establish:- due diligence;
- supplier risk assessment;
- contractual requirements;
- security;
- privacy;
- assurance;
- monitoring;
- incident notification;
- material change notification; and
- termination requirements.
44. Regulatory and External Requirements
The governance arrangement should identify applicable:- laws;
- regulations;
- standards;
- contracts;
- internal policies; and
- external commitments.
- source;
- reference;
- requirement;
- applicability;
- owner;
- evidence; and
- review frequency.
45. Documentation Governance
Governance should establish controls for:- controlled documents;
- repositories;
- ownership;
- retention;
- review;
- versioning;
- change control; and
- access.
46. Evidence Governance
Governance should establish:- evidence repository;
- evidence ownership;
- minimum evidence requirements;
- retention;
- access;
- quality;
- integrity; and
- review.
47. Exception Governance
Exceptions should be controlled. An exception process should establish:- request;
- requirement;
- reason;
- risk;
- compensating controls;
- duration;
- approval authority;
- monitoring; and
- review.
48. Governance Metrics
Governance metrics should measure whether governance is functioning as intended. Possible metrics include:- AI registration coverage;
- classification completion;
- risk assessment completion;
- control effectiveness;
- approval timeliness;
- monitoring coverage;
- incident response;
- assurance completion;
- improvement completion;
- retirement completion;
- evidence completeness; and
- governance maturity.
- definition;
- owner;
- frequency;
- target;
- threshold; and
- reporting destination.
49. Governance Maturity
The Governance Schema supports representation of governance maturity. Maturity information may include:- current level;
- target level;
- maturity model;
- strengths;
- gaps;
- assessment;
- improvement actions.
50. Management Review Governance
Governance should establish:- management review requirement;
- frequency;
- authority;
- inputs;
- outputs;
- review criteria; and
- follow-up.
51. Continual-Improvement Governance
Governance should establish:- improvement requirement;
- improvement sources;
- prioritization;
- ownership;
- verification;
- standardization; and
- reporting.
- incidents;
- assurance;
- monitoring;
- risk;
- control assessments;
- stakeholder feedback;
- maturity assessment;
- regulatory change; and
- management review.
52. Resource Governance
AI governance requires appropriate resources. Governance should consider:- staffing;
- competence;
- technology;
- funding;
- specialist support;
- infrastructure; and
- governance capacity.
53. Training and Competence Governance
Governance should define competence requirements for relevant roles. Training governance may include:- required roles;
- competencies;
- training topics;
- frequency;
- owner;
- completion monitoring; and
- effectiveness.
54. Communication Governance
Governance should establish:- stakeholder groups;
- communication channels;
- communication frequency;
- disclosure requirements;
- owner; and
- escalation.
55. Governance Changes
Changes to the governance arrangement should be formally controlled. Governance changes may concern:- structure;
- roles;
- authority;
- policy;
- procedure;
- controls;
- lifecycle;
- risk;
- monitoring;
- assurance;
- regulatory requirements; or
- documentation.
- impact assessment;
- risk assessment;
- approval;
- implementation;
- communication; and
- verification.
56. Governance Approvals
The Governance record may reference formal approvals establishing or modifying the governance arrangement. Approval information should identify:- approval ID;
- approval type;
- decision;
- authority;
- date;
- conditions; and
- evidence.
57. Governance Review Schedule
The governance arrangement should be reviewed periodically and when triggered. Triggers may include:- significant incidents;
- material AI changes;
- regulatory developments;
- assurance findings;
- strategic changes;
- technology developments;
- changes in risk appetite;
- maturity findings; or
- significant organizational changes.
- frequency;
- next review date;
- review owner; and
- trigger criteria.
58. Governance Traceability
The Governance record should maintain traceability to the AIGO framework architecture. The logical relationship is:59. Governance and AI Portfolio
At portfolio level, governance should provide visibility across:- all registered AI systems;
- classifications;
- risks;
- controls;
- approvals;
- incidents;
- changes;
- assurance;
- monitoring;
- improvement; and
- retirement.
60. Governance and Risk Appetite
The governance arrangement should establish or reference the organization’s AI risk appetite. Risk appetite should guide:- classification;
- risk evaluation;
- treatment;
- acceptance;
- escalation;
- approval;
- monitoring; and
- management review.
61. Governance and Accountability
Ultimate accountability should be identifiable. The governance structure should prevent situations where:- responsibility is distributed without accountability;
- approval authority is unclear;
- risks have no owner;
- controls have no owner;
- incidents have no accountable coordinator; or
- governance bodies have overlapping decision rights.
62. Governance and Proportionality
Governance should be proportionate to:- AI system risk;
- potential impact;
- autonomy;
- affected-person scale;
- regulatory requirements;
- organizational complexity;
- system criticality;
- technology;
- supplier dependence; and
- lifecycle stage.
63. Governance and Independence
Certain functions may require independence from operational ownership. Independence may be particularly important for:- assurance;
- risk challenge;
- control assessment;
- significant approvals;
- investigations;
- high-consequence assessments; and
- management escalation.
64. Governance Records
The Governance record should establish the relationships among the organization’s controlled AI governance records. Typical record families include:65. Governance Validation Requirements
A valid Governance record should satisfy:Structural Validation
The JSON document must validate against:14-AIGO-Governance-Schema-v0.1.json
Scope Validation
Governance scope should be explicitly defined.Authority Validation
Governance authority and decision rights should be identifiable.Objective Validation
Governance objectives should be established.Structure Validation
Governance bodies and reporting relationships should be defined.Role Validation
Relevant roles should have accountable responsibilities.Decision Authority Validation
Material decisions should have defined approval authority.Risk Governance Validation
Risk appetite, tolerance, ownership, and escalation should be defined where applicable.Control Governance Validation
Control ownership and assessment requirements should be established.Lifecycle Validation
Lifecycle governance and stage-gate requirements should be defined.Monitoring Validation
Required monitoring governance should be defined.Assurance Validation
Assurance requirements and independence should be established.Incident Validation
Incident governance and escalation should be defined.Change Validation
Material-change criteria and approval requirements should be defined.Retirement Validation
Retirement requirements should be established.Evidence Validation
Evidence governance and retention should be addressed.Management Review Validation
Management review requirements should be defined.Improvement Validation
Continual-improvement governance should be established.Traceability Validation
The governance arrangement should remain traceable to the underlying AIGO framework and operational records.66. Schema Limitations
JSON Schema cannot independently determine:- whether governance authority is legally valid;
- whether governance bodies are actually effective;
- whether roles have sufficient competence;
- whether decision rights are appropriately allocated;
- whether governance objectives are achieved;
- whether risk appetite is reasonable;
- whether controls are effective;
- whether governance is proportionate;
- whether management exercises sufficient oversight; or
- whether the governance arrangement complies with all applicable obligations.
67. Relationship to Templates
The Governance Schema corresponds primarily to:guidance/03-templates/01-AIGO-AI-Governance-Template-v0.1.md
It also provides organizational context for records created through:
- AI system registration;
- classification;
- risk assessment;
- control assessment;
- approval;
- monitoring;
- incident management;
- change management;
- assurance;
- management review;
- improvement; and
- retirement.
68. Relationship to Procedures
The Governance Schema should be used with applicable governance procedures, including:guidance/02-procedures/01-AIGO-AI-Governance-Procedure-v0.1.md
and supporting procedures for:
- AI system registration;
- classification;
- risk assessment;
- control assessment;
- approval;
- monitoring;
- incident management;
- change management;
- assurance;
- risk acceptance;
- retirement; and
- continuous improvement.
69. Framework Traceability
70. Governance Traceability Model
The recommended governance traceability chain is:71. Example Record
A conceptual Governance record may look like:72. Schema Registry Relationship
This schema is registered in:schemas/00-AIGO-Schema-Registry-v0.1.json
The registry should maintain:
- schema identifier;
- object type;
- version;
- controlled path;
- status;
- dependencies;
- referenced schemas;
- owner;
- documentation path; and
- traceability metadata.
73. Change and Version Management
Changes to the Governance Schema should be managed through AIGO change management. Potential impacts should be assessed against:- governance documents;
- governance procedures;
- roles;
- decision authority;
- committees;
- risk management;
- controls;
- lifecycle governance;
- monitoring;
- assurance;
- incidents;
- changes;
- management review;
- improvement;
- external mappings;
- schemas; and
- validation tooling.
74. Future Extensions
Future versions may support:- machine-readable governance charters;
- organizational hierarchy integration;
- policy-as-code;
- automated decision-right validation;
- committee workflow;
- governance authority validation;
- automated regulatory applicability;
- portfolio governance analytics;
- governance maturity analytics;
- machine-readable risk appetite rules;
- automated lifecycle gate enforcement; and
- cross-organization governance federation.
75. Document Control
76. Document Status
Document: AIGO — Governance Schema Documentation Version: 0.1 Status: Draft Working Name: AIGO Full Name: AI Governance Operating Framework Document Identifier:AIGO-SCHEMA-DOC-014
Document Type: Schema Documentation
This document provides the human-readable interpretation, governance context, validation expectations, and traceability guidance for the AIGO Governance Schema.
End of Document