Governance

Question 1

Who owns the design system, and how is that ownership funded?

Funded ownership is the difference between a product and a side project that survives until the next reorg. In a small organisation the top options may simply not apply — answer for the arrangement you have, not the one an org chart would allow.

Question 2

How can a product team get a change into the design system?

Nathan Curtis' models — solitary, centralised, federated — differ mainly in how a contribution travels. Any of them works; not having one does not.

Question 3

How are incoming requests prioritised?

Without visible prioritisation, the loudest team sets the roadmap and everyone else stops asking.

Question 4

Is there a definition of done that a component must meet before it is released?

A component checklist (a11y, tests, docs, tokens, responsive behaviour) is the cheapest quality gate a system team can own.

Question 5

Are significant decisions recorded somewhere others can read later?

Undocumented decisions get relitigated every six months, usually by new people with the same good arguments.

Question 6

How is accessibility governed — who signs a component off as accessible?

A design system multiplies whatever it contains. An inaccessible component becomes an organisation-wide defect.