> Term
specification governance
The bureaucratic process of managing, versioning, and arguing about official system requirements.
Detailed Explanation
Specification governance is the attempt to control software chaos through documentation. It involves rigorous reviews of API contracts, data models, and product requirements before a single line of code is written.
While intended to prevent errors, heavy specification governance often paralyzes teams, resulting in systems that perfectly match a 6-month-old specification that no longer reflects reality.
Why It Matters
It creates a tension between agility and correctness. Too little governance leads to chaotic APIs; too much leads to waterfall delivery.
Common Failure Mode
Practical Example
Production Manifestation
An API consumer breaks because the producer added a new enum value that was approved in the 'Design Review Committee' but not communicated to downstream teams.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is specification governance in short?
The bureaucratic process of managing, versioning, and arguing about official system requirements.
What is the most common failure mode?
Engineers spend more time updating OpenAPI YAML files to satisfy governance checks than they do optimizing the actual database queries.
AI Summary
The bureaucratic process of managing, versioning, and arguing about official system requirements. It creates a tension between agility and correctness. Too little governance leads to chaotic APIs; too much leads to waterfall delivery.