HARTWELL & CO. AI & DATA GOVERNANCE ADVISORY
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AI Governance Framework · The Hartwell Governance Method™ A method, not a checklist

Most AI governance advice stops at frameworks and policy documents. The Hartwell Governance Method is the operating path I have used to build governance programs from zero at United Technologies, II-VI, Axiall, and Syniti — six stages, each one a precondition for the next, ending in business value that can actually be measured, not asserted.

  1. Business Strategy

    “AI isn’t a strategy.”

    Ask yourselfCan you connect AI to a business problem?

  2. Data Foundation

    “Clean data is the foundation to any successful AI program.”

    Ask yourselfCan you recognize when the data isn’t ready?

  3. Data Governance

    Ensures the information AI consumes is accurate, trusted, secure, and fit for purpose.

    Ask yourselfDo you trust the data feeding your AI?

  4. AI Governance

    Determines how AI should be used responsibly.

    Ask yourselfCan you establish AI governance and accountability?

  5. AI Deployment

    AI models are now part of your decision infrastructure.

    Ask yourselfCan you help people change how they work?

  6. Measurable Business Value

    “If you can’t trace AI value to a measurable business outcome, don’t call it ROI.”

    Ask yourselfCan you measure results beyond a successful demo?

Where do you stand? Tick each question you can answer yes to, and I’ll show you where to start.

AI governance cannot compensate for an ungoverned data foundation.

AI Governance and Data Governance are not competing priorities. They are symbiotic.

Read the guide: AI governance vs. data governance →
Who's Minding the Data? infographic: when data governance is weak versus strong (opens LinkedIn post)

Why the sequence matters

Skip a stage, and the ones after it don't hold.

46%
Nearly half never make it out of the pilot.
Of AI projects, on average, never make it from pilot into production (Gartner: 54% do)
Gartner, 2022 (survey of 699 organizations)
7%
One violation can cost more than the program that would have prevented it.
Of worldwide annual turnover (or €35 million, whichever is higher): the maximum EU AI Act fine for prohibited AI practices
EU AI Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Art. 99

Who’s minding the…?

My running series on the questions nobody is asking about AI, yet.

Who's Minding the Farm? infographic on keeping experienced people as AI scales (opens LinkedIn) Who’s Minding the Farm? What happens when the people who know how the place runs walk out the door. Who's Minding the Model? infographic on governing the AI model layer (opens LinkedIn) Who’s Minding the Model? Why AI Governance Has Become a Leadership Problem Who's Minding the Farm? graphic: experience, business knowledge and change leadership over a farm at sunrise (opens LinkedIn) Who Is Minding the Farm, Part Deux! What you know still matters, maybe more now than it was a year ago.
AI Governance Scanner

Want to see where your own codebase stands?

The AI Governance Scanner checks a repository against 10 AI governance and compliance frameworks and returns a scorecard in seconds.

  • NIST AI RMF
  • ISO 42001
  • EU AI Act
  • HIPAA
  • GDPR
  • FedRAMP
  • CMMC
  • and more
frameworks, one scorecard Try the Scanner →

Bring the Method to your organization

I will show you exactly where your organization sits on the path — and what closes the gap.

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