Quick Start Guide: Launch SEA™ Forge Governance in 30 Days

Overview

Time Commitment: 30 days
Audience: AI governance leads, engineering teams, PMO
Outcome: Operational spec-first governance with Policy Gateway, Evidence Service, and TDD workflows

This guide provides a practical 30-day sprint to establish minimum viable governance using SEA™ Forge’s built-in capabilities.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

• SEA™ Forge repository cloned and configured
• Docker installed and running
• Cross-functional team with 4-8 hours/week availability
• Executive sponsor committed to spec-first governance

Validate Environment:

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cd ~/projects/SEA™
just doctor    # Should show all checks passing

30-Day Roadmap

gantt
    title 30-Day SEA™ Forge Governance Launch
    dateFormat  YYYY-MM-DD
    section Week 1: Foundation
    Setup & validation           :a1, 2026-01-06, 2d
    Team training               :a2, after a1, 3d
    Initial policies            :a3, after a2, 2d
    section Week 2: Configuration
    GovernedSpeed™ setup         :b1, 2026-01-13, 3d
    Policy Gateway config       :b2, after b1, 2d
    Evidence Service            :b3, after b2, 2d
    section Week 3: Integration
    CI/CD integration           :c1, 2026-01-20, 3d
    Drift detection             :c2, after c1, 2d
    Monitoring setup            :c3, after c2, 2d
    section Week 4: Launch
    Pilot project               :d1, 2026-01-27, 3d
    Documentation               :d2, after d1, 2d
    Review & iterate            :d3, after d2, 2d

Week 1: Foundation (Days 1-7)

Day 1-2: Environment Setup & Validation

Objective: Confirm SEA™ Forge environment is ready for governance

Tasks:

1. Clone and configure repository:

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   git clone https://github.com/GodSpeedAI/SEA™.git
   cd SEA™ && cp .env.example .env
   

2. Run health check:

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   just doctor
   # Expected: All checks passing
   

3. Start core services:

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   docker-compose up -d
   # Verify: all containers healthy
   

4. Run initial spec validation:

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   just spec-guard
   # Expected: 0 errors (warnings acceptable)
   

Deliverables:

• Environment validated via just doctor
• Core services running
• spec-guard executes successfully

Day 3-5: Team Training

Objective: Ensure team understands spec-first governance principles

Training Modules:

1. Spec-First Principles (1 hour)
   • Review ARCHITECTURE.md
   • Understand: Specs are source of truth; code is projection
   • Key invariant: No agent writes code directly
2. SEA™ DSL Basics (2 hours)
   • Review language references:
     • docs/reference/sea_dsl_language_reference.yml
     • docs/reference/sea_dsl_language_idioms.yml
   • Practice:

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     just sea-validate docs/specs/semantic-core/domain.sea
     

3. Governance Commands (1 hour)
   • just spec-guard — Validate all specifications
   • just sds-validate <file> — Validate single SDS
   • just cycle-* — TDD workflow commands

Deliverables:

• Team completed training modules
• Each member ran core just commands successfully
• Questions documented and addressed

Day 6-7: Initial Policies

Objective: Author first SEA™ DSL governance policies

Tasks:

1. Review existing policies:

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   find docs/specs -name "*.sea" -exec head -20 {} \;
   

2. Author governance policy:
   • Create new policy file or add to existing
   • Example policy:

     policy DataAccessGovernance:
     it is obligatory that each DataRequest
       has authorization = approved
       has audit_trail = enabled
       before data_access
     

3. Validate policy:

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   just sea-validate <policy-file>
   

Deliverables:

• At least 3 governance policies authored
• All policies pass validation
• Policies reviewed by AGC

Week 2: Configuration (Days 8-14)

Day 8-10: GovernedSpeed™ Setup

Objective: Configure GovernedSpeed™ governance stack

Tasks:

1. Review GovernedSpeed™ components:
   • Policy Gateway (SDS-042)
   • Evidence Service (SDS-043)
   • Risk & Evidence tracking
2. Configure Policy Gateway:
   • Review infra/ configuration
   • Enable filtering rules
   • Test with sample prompts
3. Verify integration:

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   just ci-quick    # Should include governance checks
   

Deliverables:

• Policy Gateway configured
• Filtering rules active
• Integration tests passing

Day 11-12: Policy Gateway Configuration

Objective: Configure runtime policy enforcement

Tasks:

1. Define filter categories:
   • PII detection
   • Jailbreak prevention
   • Content safety
2. Configure thresholds:
   • Low risk: Allow with logging
   • Medium risk: Human review required
   • High risk: Block immediately
3. Test filters:
   • Submit test prompts
   • Verify correct classification
   • Review audit logs

Deliverables:

• Filter categories defined
• Thresholds configured
• Test results documented

Day 13-14: Evidence Service Enablement

Objective: Enable tamper-evident audit trails

Tasks:

1. Configure Evidence Service:
   • Enable SHA256 artifact hashing
   • Set retention policy (default: 7 years)
   • Configure alert thresholds
2. Verify logging:
   • Generate test events
   • Confirm log immutability
   • Test retrieval queries
3. Document compliance mapping:
   • Map logs to regulatory requirements
   • Document evidence retention policy

Deliverables:

• Evidence Service active
• Audit trails verified
• Compliance mapping documented

Week 3: Integration (Days 15-21)

Day 15-17: CI/CD Integration

Objective: Embed governance in deployment pipeline

Tasks:

1. Enable spec-guard in CI:
   • Review .github/workflows/ci.yml
   • Confirm spec-guard runs on every PR
2. Configure gating:
   • Block merge if spec-guard fails
   • Require Evidence Service logging
3. Test integration:
   • Create test PR
   • Verify governance checks run
   • Confirm blocking behavior

Deliverables:

• spec-guard runs in CI
• Merge blocking configured
• Test PR verified

Day 18-19: Drift Detection

Objective: Enable continuous architecture validation

Tasks:

1. Configure drift detection:
   • Enable regeneration comparison
   • Set threshold: regen == committed
2. Test detection:
   • Make intentional code change
   • Verify drift is detected
   • Confirm CI blocks
3. Document remediation process:
   • Drift detected → Update spec
   • Regenerate → Verify match
   • Commit → CI passes

Deliverables:

• Drift detection enabled
• Detection verified
• Remediation documented

Day 20-21: Monitoring Setup

Objective: Establish governance metrics dashboard

Tasks:

1. Define KPIs:
   • Policy Gateway violations (target: 0 critical)
   • Drift occurrences (target: < 5/week)
   • Audit trail completeness (target: 100%)
   • Spec validation failures (target: 0)
2. Configure alerts:
   • Critical: Immediate notification
   • Warning: Daily digest
   • Info: Weekly report
3. Create dashboard:
   • Integrate with OpenObserve
   • Display real-time metrics

Deliverables:

• KPIs defined
• Alerts configured
• Dashboard operational

Week 4: Launch (Days 22-30)

Day 22-24: Pilot Project

Objective: Apply governance to real initiative

Tasks:

1. Select pilot project:
   • Moderate complexity
   • Cross-functional team
   • Clear business value
2. Apply governance workflow:

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   just /spec adr    # Create ADR
   just /spec prd    # Create PRD
   just /spec sds    # Create SDS
   just sea-validate <file>   # Validate SEA™ DSL
   just cycle-start <phase> <cycle> <agent> <slug>
   

3. Document lessons learned:
   • What worked well?
   • What needs improvement?
   • Process refinements

Deliverables:

• Pilot initiated
• Governance applied end-to-end
• Lessons documented

Day 25-27: Documentation Finalization

Objective: Complete governance documentation

Tasks:

1. Finalize policies:
   • Review all SEA™ DSL policies
   • Ensure consistency
   • Get AGC approval
2. Update procedures:
   • Document workflows
   • Create runbooks
   • Update team guides
3. Publish governance plan:
   • Share with stakeholders
   • Conduct walkthrough
   • Address questions

Deliverables:

• Policies finalized
• Procedures documented
• Plan published

Day 28-30: Review & Iteration

Objective: Assess 30-day outcomes and plan next steps

Tasks:

1. Conduct retrospective:
   • What worked?
   • What didn’t?
   • Improvement opportunities

2. Measure success: | Metric | Target | Actual | |——–|——–|——–| | Spec validation passing | 100% | | | Policy Gateway active | Yes | | | Evidence Service logging | Yes | | | Drift detection enabled | Yes | | | Pilot completed | Yes | |

3. Plan next phase:
   • Expand to additional projects
   • Refine policies based on learnings
   • Scale team training

Deliverables:

• Retrospective completed
• Success metrics documented
• Next phase planned

Success Metrics

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall: Bypassing Specs for Speed

Solution: Enforce CI blocking; celebrate spec-first wins

Pitfall: Over-Engineering Policies

Solution: Start simple; iterate based on real needs

Pitfall: Ignoring Evidence Service

Solution: Make audit review part of weekly standup

Pitfall: Manual Governance

Solution: Automate everything; use just commands

Next Steps After 30 Days

Months 2-3:

• Roll out to all active projects
• Refine Policy Gateway rules
• Conduct first governance audit

Months 4-6:

• Advanced SEA™ DSL training
• Custom policy development
• Cross-team knowledge sharing

Ongoing:

• Quarterly policy reviews
• Continuous improvement
• Regulatory alignment updates