Compliance shouldn't be a last-minute checkbox — it should be woven into your AI development lifecycle from day one.

Compliance-by-Design Workflow

Planning phase:

• Determine risk classification (high-risk, limited risk, minimal risk)
• Identify applicable regulations (EU AI Act, sector-specific rules, data protection)
• Define success criteria including fairness and transparency metrics
• Assign governance roles (AI ethics lead, data protection officer, legal reviewer)

Development phase:

• Document data provenance and preprocessing decisions
• Implement logging for all model decisions and inputs
• Build explainability features from the start (not retrofitted)
• Conduct iterative bias testing during development

Pre-deployment:

• Complete risk assessment documentation
• Conduct conformity assessment (self or third-party)
• Prepare user-facing transparency disclosures
• Establish human oversight mechanisms
• Create incident response procedures

Post-deployment:

• Monitor performance metrics and drift indicators
• Collect and respond to user complaints and feedback
• Conduct periodic re-assessments (quarterly for high-risk)
• Update documentation as the system evolves

Model Cards & System Cards

Standardized documentation formats:

Model Card (per model):

• Intended use and out-of-scope uses
• Training data description
• Performance metrics across demographic groups
• Ethical considerations and limitations

System Card (per deployed system):

• System architecture and components
• Human oversight description
• Risk assessment summary
• Monitoring and update procedures

Building an AI Governance Team

For smaller organizations, one person may cover multiple roles, but the functions must all be addressed.

Vendor & Third-Party AI Governance

If you use AI from external providers (OpenAI, Google, AWS):

• Verify their compliance documentation
• Understand their data processing and retention policies
• Ensure your contract includes AI-specific provisions
• Monitor for changes in their models or terms
• Maintain your own risk assessments even for third-party AI