SEA™ Forge GenAI Governance Handbook

Purpose & Context

SEA™ Forge’s spec-first architecture transforms governance from a compliance burden into a continuous, automated process. This handbook synthesizes multiple AI governance frameworks into SEA™ Forge’s unique approach where specs are source of truth and code is a projection.

Actionable: Each section answers “What do we do tomorrow?” with processes, templates, and just commands.

Multi-framework: It blends NIST AI RMF, ISO 42001, EU AI Act, and CPMAI+E into SEA™ Forge’s spec-first pipeline.

SEA-Native: Uses SEA™ DSL for executable policies, GovernedSpeed™ for runtime enforcement, and Evidence Service for audit trails.

1 Framework Alignment

1.1 Framework Mapping to SEA™ Forge

Framework	SEA™ Forge Component	Key Implementation
NIST AI RMF	GovernedSpeed™	Policy Gateway (SDS-042), Evidence Service (SDS-043)
ISO 42001	SEA™ Invariants	SDS-035: 15 non-negotiable system controls
EU AI Act	SEA™ DSL Policies	Risk classification via policy annotations
CPMAI+E	Spec-First Pipeline	ADR→PRD→SDS→SEA™ Model→Code
PMI Templates	Just Commands	`spec-guard`, `cycle-*`, `sea-validate`

1.2 Spec-First Pipeline as Governance Backbone

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        SPEC-FIRST GOVERNANCE PIPELINE                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ADR → PRD → SDS → SEA™ Model → AST → IR → Manifest → Generated Code        │
│   │     │     │       │                        │                            │
│   └──┬──┴──┬──┴───────┴────────────────────────┘                            │
│      │     │                                                                │
│      │     └─ Traceability Chain (bidirectional, machine-verifiable)        │
│      └─ Human-authored specifications only                                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

1.3 Synergistic Integration

Generic space: All frameworks aim for trustworthy AI. SEA™ Forge unifies them through:

Single source of truth: SEA™ DSL policies
Continuous enforcement: GovernedSpeed™ runtime
Immutable evidence: Evidence Service (SDS-043)
Automated validation: just spec-guard

2 Unified Operational Handbook

2.1 High-Level Architecture

flowchart TD
    start([Start: New AI Initiative]) --> BU[Business Understanding]
    BU --> ADR[Create ADR]
    ADR --> PRD[Create PRD]
    PRD --> SDS[Create SDS]
    SDS --> SEA™[Author SEA™ DSL Model]
    SEA™ --> GEN[Generate Code]
    GEN --> VERIFY{Verify with spec-guard}
    VERIFY -->|Pass| DEPLOY[Deploy with Governance]
    VERIFY -->|Fail| SEA™
    DEPLOY --> MONITOR[Monitor via GovernedSpeed™]
    MONITOR --> EVOLVE{Evolution Needed?}
    EVOLVE -->|Yes| BU
    EVOLVE -->|No| CONTINUE[Continue Operations]
    
    subgraph CrossFunctions [Cross-Cutting Governance]
      PG[Policy Gateway: Runtime Filtering]
      ES[Evidence Service: Audit Trails]
      SDL[Semantic Debt Ledger: Risk Tracking]
      INV[Invariants: SDS-035 Controls]
    end
    
    PG -.-> DEPLOY
    ES -.-> MONITOR
    SDL -.-> EVOLVE
    INV -.-> VERIFY

2.2 Roles & Accountability

AI Governance Committee (AGC)

Cross-functional board: legal, ethics, domain experts, technical leads
Approves governance policies in SEA™ DSL
Maintains invariant compliance per SDS-035
Reviews Semantic Debt Ledger quarterly

Project Management Office (PMO)

Ensures spec-first pipeline adherence
Coordinates TDD cycles via just cycle-*
Monitors readiness assessments
Tracks governance metrics

Centers of Excellence (CoE)

Provides SEA™ DSL authoring expertise
Designs Policy Gateway rules
Implements Evidence Service integrations
Maintains spec templates

Domain Stakeholders

Define business objectives and constraints
Contribute to ADR/PRD authoring
Validate SDS against requirements
Approve Go/No-Go at spec gates

AI/ML Teams

Author SEA™ DSL models
Run just spec-guard before commits
Monitor Policy Gateway outputs
Report incidents via Evidence Service

2.3 Phase-by-Phase Process

2.3.1 Business Understanding & Governing

Objectives: Define business goals, determine AI necessity, identify regulations, establish governance structure.

Processes & Tasks:

Context Analysis (ISO 42001)
- Analyze internal/external factors
- Identify stakeholder expectations
- Determine regulatory requirements (EU AI Act, HIPAA, GLBA)
Define Business Problem (CPMAI)
- State measurable objectives
- Decide if rule-based automation suffices
- Classify AI pattern (prediction, recognition, generation)

Create ADR Document

# Use SEA™ spec workflow
just /spec adr

Document architectural decision
Reference applicable regulations
Define governance requirements

Establish Risk Appetite
- Set impact × likelihood thresholds
- Define Go/No-Go criteria
- Configure Policy Gateway rules

Checklist: Business Understanding

Item	Evidence
[ ] Business objective documented	ADR document
[ ] AI vs automation decision made	ADR rationale
[ ] Regulatory requirements identified	SDS compliance section
[ ] Governance roles assigned	RACI in ADR
[ ] Risk appetite defined	SEA™ DSL policy

2.3.2 Data Understanding & Mapping

Objectives: Identify data sources, evaluate quality, address provenance, map context.

Processes & Tasks:

Inventory Data Sources
- List datasets with owners and licenses
- Document quality issues and biases
- Check privacy compliance (GDPR, HIPAA)
Provenance & Rights
- Verify data origin and licensing
- Ensure data minimization
- Apply privacy-enhancing technologies
Create PRD Document
```
1
just /spec prd
```
- Reference data requirements
- Define acceptance criteria
- Link to governing ADR

Data Mapping Template

Data Source	Owner/License	Quality Issues	Bias Risk	Mitigation
Customer records	Internal/Proprietary	Incomplete fields	Selection bias	Oversample underrepresented
Training corpus	Vendor X	Unknown provenance	Societal bias	Safety alignment

2.3.3 Data Preparation

Objectives: Clean, augment, label data; ensure privacy; document readiness.

Processes & Tasks:

Data Cleaning
- Fix missing values, standardize formats
- Document cleaning steps in SDS
Augmentation
- Apply synthetic generation as needed
- Filter for toxic/copyrighted content
Privacy Enhancement
- Implement PETs (differential privacy, anonymization)
- Document trade-offs in SDS

Checklist: Data Preparation

2.3.4 Model Development & Measurement

Objectives: Select and train models; optimize for performance, risk, compliance.

Processes & Tasks:

Create SDS Document
```
1
just /spec sds
```
- Define service architecture
- Specify model requirements
- Document governance constraints

Author SEA™ DSL Model

just sea-validate <file>
just sea-parse <file>

Express business rules as policies
Define invariants and constraints
Reference SDS requirements

Measure Risks (NIST AI RMF)
- Define performance metrics
- Set risk thresholds
- Configure Policy Gateway rules

Example SEA™ DSL Policy:

policy HighValueOrderApproval:
  it is obligatory that each Order with amount > $10,000
    has compliance_sign_off = verified
    before processing

2.3.5 Operationalization & Management

Objectives: Deploy responsibly, monitor performance, manage incidents, ensure continuous improvement.

Processes & Tasks:

Generate Code

just pipeline <context>

Generate from SEA™ Model
Verify determinism: regen == committed

Deploy with Governance

just spec-guard    # Validate before deploy
just ci            # Full CI including governance

Monitor via GovernedSpeed™
- Policy Gateway: Runtime filtering
- Evidence Service: Audit trail capture
- Semantic Debt Ledger: Risk tracking
Incident Management
- Define escalation pathways
- Log incidents to Evidence Service
- Trigger kill switch if needed (< 1 second)

Monitoring Checklist

KPI	Frequency	Threshold
Policy Gateway violations	Real-time	0 critical
Drift detection	Per commit	PSI < 0.2
Audit trail completeness	Daily	100%
Kill switch response	On demand	< 1 second

2.4 Templates & Samples

2.4.1 Readiness Assessment (0-3 Scale)

#	Question	Score	Actions
1	Are specs the source of truth for all code?
2	Is GovernedSpeed™ configured?
3	Are SEA™ DSL policies defined?
4	Is Evidence Service logging active?
5	Is Policy Gateway filtering enabled?
6	Are teams trained on spec-first workflow?
7	Are TDD cycles used for development?
8	Is drift detection enabled in CI?

2.4.2 Risk Register

ID	Risk	Severity	Likelihood	Mitigation	Owner
1	LLM hallucination	8	6	Policy Gateway filtering	MLOps
2	Spec drift	7	4	CI drift detection	DevOps
3	Unauthorized action	9	3	SDS-035 invariants	AGC

2.4.3 Just Commands Reference

# Setup & Health
just setup              # Install dependencies
just doctor             # Environment health check
just ci                 # Full local CI

# Spec Validation
just spec-guard         # Validate all specs
just sds-validate <f>   # Validate SDS YAML
just sea-validate <f>   # Validate SEA-DSL
just pipeline <ctx>     # Full codegen pipeline

# TDD Cycles
just cycle-start <phase> <cycle> <agent> <slug>
just cycle-complete <phase> <cycle> <agent>
just worktrees-clean

3 Implementation Roadmap

Phase 1: Foundation (Weeks 1-2)

Configure GovernedSpeed™ stack
Run just doctor to validate environment
Train team on spec-first principles
Define initial SEA™ DSL policies

Phase 2: Policy Development (Weeks 3-4)

Author governance policies in SEA™ DSL
Configure Policy Gateway rules
Enable Evidence Service logging
Integrate with existing SDS documents

Phase 3: Pipeline Integration (Weeks 5-8)

Enable spec-guard in CI/CD
Configure drift detection
Set up monitoring dashboards
Run pilot with 1-2 initiatives

Phase 4: Continuous Operation (Ongoing)

Quarterly policy reviews
Semantic Debt Ledger management
Compliance reporting
Team capability building

4 Industry-Specific Notes

Finance

Emphasize GLBA compliance in SDS documents
Configure strict Policy Gateway rules for credit decisions
Enable full audit trails for SR 11-7

Healthcare

Integrate HIPAA requirements into ADR/SDS
Configure patient data filtering in Policy Gateway
Document clinical validation in SDS

Federal Contracting

Reference FAR/DFARS in ADR documents
Enable NIST SP 800-53 controls via SDS-035 invariants
Maintain supply chain documentation

Conclusion

This handbook delivers a unified, actionable AI governance system that leverages SEA™ Forge’s spec-first architecture. By treating specs as source of truth and governance as code, organizations achieve continuous compliance, automated enforcement, and immutable audit trails—transforming governance from impediment to accelerator.

Last Updated: January 2026

Version: 1.0.0