What is Design System Governance?
Design system governance encompasses the processes, roles, and decision-making frameworks that guide how a design system evolves—including how new components are added, who approves changes, and how compliance is monitored.
Why Governance Matters
Without governance, design systems either stagnate (no one can add to them) or become chaotic (everyone adds whatever they want). Governance creates clear paths for evolution while maintaining quality. It answers questions like: Who decides if we need a new component? How do we deprecate old patterns? What happens when teams need exceptions?
Contribution Models
Governance models range from centralized (a core team makes all decisions) to federated (teams contribute with core team review) to distributed (anyone can contribute with minimal oversight). Most successful systems use federated models—enabling contribution while maintaining standards through review processes.
Decision-Making Frameworks
Good governance defines how decisions are made: What criteria determine if a pattern becomes a component? How do we prioritize component requests? When do we accept exceptions vs. require system use? Clear criteria reduce politics and make decisions consistent and predictable.
Compliance and Enforcement
Governance includes monitoring system usage and addressing non-compliance. This ranges from soft approaches (dashboards showing adoption rates, guidance during design reviews) to harder enforcement (blocking non-compliant designs in handoff, requiring design system sign-off). Automated auditing tools make compliance visible without manual effort.
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