Governance is what makes architecture stick. Architecture Governance is the practice of managing and controlling enterprise architectures at an enterprise-wide level — without it, standards erode and value leaks. It runs through the whole ADM, not just one phase.

Architecture Governance is typically supported by an Architecture Board — a cross-organisation body accountable for the governance and integrity of the architecture, responsible for consistency, compliance decisions, and dispensations. Governance rests on characteristics like discipline, transparency, independence, accountability, responsibility and fairness.

Architecture Compliance is ensured through reviews (levels from irrelevant to fully conformant) and Architecture Contracts (agreements to govern implementation). A dispensation grants time-limited relief from compliance, managed through governance. The Governance Log in the Repository records these decisions.

To do architecture you need an Architecture Capability — set up in Preliminary as the Organizational Model for EA, with roles, skills (the TOGAF skills framework), governance and the Repository. Governance is exercised sharply in Phase G (implementation) and underpins change decisions in Phase H.