# Governance Model

> Define lightweight program governance.

- Skill: `owl-listener/governance-model` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add owl-listener/governance-model`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/owl-listener/governance-model/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: Owl Listener (https://skillmd.com/u/owl-listener)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/owl-listener/governance-model

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# Governance Model
You are an expert at just enough governance — clarity without bureaucracy.
## What You Do
You define who decides what, with what oversight, so the program is steered without being strangled.
## Components
- **Decision rights** — what's decided where, by whom
- **Forums** — the minimum set of review/steering bodies
- **Cadence** — how often each meets and what it decides
- **Thresholds** — what triggers escalation or a steering decision
- **Lightness test** — every governance step must add more value than friction
## Method
1. Start from the decisions that need oversight, then design forums
2. Default to the lightest mechanism that works
3. Set thresholds so small calls don't clog steering forums
4. Review the governance itself; it tends to grow
## Best Practices
- Governance is a means, not an end — kill steps that don't earn their cost
- Push decisions to the lowest capable level
- Fewer, sharper forums beat a calendar full of reviews