Toolbox

Governance Pack: RACI + RFC template + release checklist

The minimum governance that keeps velocity without chaos.

What it is

A starter pack that defines ownership, decision flow and release discipline.

When to use

When change requests are inconsistent or teams do not know who decides.

How to use

Download the pack and review the 4 templates (RACI, RFC, release checklist, deprecation policy)
Customize RACI matrix: list your token categories, assign one owner each from DS team
Adapt RFC template: add your component API conventions and review criteria
Schedule monthly release window: pick a date, add to team calendars, block for 2 hours
Document deprecation timeline: announce in a minor release, remove only in a major, at least 6 months later (Field Guide 09)
Link templates from your design system documentation homepage

Before you start

Prerequisites and when to skip this.

Prerequisites

Design system has shipped to production
More than 2 people can make changes to the system
At least one external team consumes your components

When NOT to use this

Solo designer/developer maintaining the system (you ARE the process)
System is in exploration phase with no production consumers yet
Team smaller than 3 people (overhead of governance exceeds benefit)

Consider instead

Small team, early system: Simple README with 'talk to [name] for changes'
Rapid iteration phase: Slack channel + weekly sync until patterns stabilize

Downloads

Governance Pack (ZIP)

Adoption PlaybookEnterprise UX that ships

The share link includes source tracking so LinkedIn traffic stays measurable in analytics.

Share on LinkedIn

Toolbox

Governance Pack: RACI + RFC template + release checklist

The minimum governance that keeps velocity without chaos.

What it is

A starter pack that defines ownership, decision flow and release discipline.

When to use

When change requests are inconsistent or teams do not know who decides.

How to use

Download the pack and review the 4 templates (RACI, RFC, release checklist, deprecation policy)
Customize RACI matrix: list your token categories, assign one owner each from DS team
Adapt RFC template: add your component API conventions and review criteria
Schedule monthly release window: pick a date, add to team calendars, block for 2 hours
Document deprecation timeline: announce in a minor release, remove only in a major, at least 6 months later (Field Guide 09)
Link templates from your design system documentation homepage

Before you start

Prerequisites and when to skip this.

Prerequisites

Design system has shipped to production
More than 2 people can make changes to the system
At least one external team consumes your components

When NOT to use this

Solo designer/developer maintaining the system (you ARE the process)
System is in exploration phase with no production consumers yet
Team smaller than 3 people (overhead of governance exceeds benefit)

Consider instead

Small team, early system: Simple README with 'talk to [name] for changes'
Rapid iteration phase: Slack channel + weekly sync until patterns stabilize

Downloads

Governance Pack (ZIP)

Adoption PlaybookEnterprise UX that ships

The share link includes source tracking so LinkedIn traffic stays measurable in analytics.

Share on LinkedIn

Governance Pack: RACI + RFC template + release checklist

What it is

When to use

How to use

Before you start

Downloads

Related

Governance Pack: RACI + RFC template + release checklist

What it is

When to use

How to use

Before you start

Downloads

Related

What it is

When to use

How to use

Before you start

Downloads

Related

Share this resource

What it is

When to use

How to use

Before you start

Downloads

Related

Share this resource