Practical AI governance for small teams

Principles first

Protect people. Protect customers. Protect data. Ship value. Those four rules guide every policy.

Access and data

Grant the least access needed. Mask sensitive fields for pilots. Keep an access log. Review monthly.

Human in the loop

Define where people review outputs. Write the rule in the SOP. Examples. Client emails. Financial summaries. Policy changes.

Model and tool registry

List the models and apps in use. Note purpose, owner, and version. Add links to playbooks and training.

Incident basics

If something goes wrong, pause the workflow, notify the owner, and capture facts within 24 hours. Run a short retro within one week. Share the fix.

Enablement

Micro trainings. Job aids. Prompt libraries tied to roles. Office hours. Governance is not a binder. It is a habit.

Quarterly check

Review access. Review logs. Review incidents. Update policies. Remove tools you no longer use. Keep it simple.

Outcome

Trust grows. Risk drops. Adoption sticks.