AI agent for chief digital officers
Data Governance Exception Agent
Every policy exception recorded, time-limited and reviewed with controls verified
What it does
Policy exceptions get granted informally and are never reviewed. This agent logs each exception request, checks it against the policy and the risk it creates, and proposes a time limit and compensating controls. It tracks the expiry date and reminds the owner before it ends. It then checks whether the controls were actually put in place and whether the exception is still needed. The governance board approves each exception. It keeps one register so the board sees every open exception, its owner and its expiry in one place. Edge case: the same team requests the same exception for the third time, so the agent flags it as a pattern for a policy change.
How it works
Follow the arrows from top to bottom. The orange dashed arrow is the loop: when a check fails, the agent goes back and tries again.
Read the steps as a list
- Exception request arrives
- Log the request with owner, policy and reason
- Assess the risk and compare with the policy
- Propose a time limit and controls
- Governance board approves or rejects the exceptionThe agent waits here for your OK.
- Track the expiry date and send reminders
- Check evidence that the controls are in place
- Are all required controls in place?If not: remind the owner and escalate if not done by the date. Back to step 7.
- Is the exception expired or still needed?If not: close it, or ask for a renewal request with evidence. Back to step 6.
- Closed exception record
How it decides
An exception gets a time limit based on risk and requires controls for higher risk. It expires unless renewed with evidence.
- Require controls for medium and high risk exceptions
- Limit most exceptions to 12 months
- Flag repeated requests for the same policy
- Escalate missing controls after 14 days
Make it yours
Every agent is a starting point. You choose these settings for your own situation.
- Maximum duration by risk level
- Reminder timing (default: 30 days before expiry)
- Control checklist
- Board contacts
What keeps you in control
It always asks you first
- Governance board approves each exception and renewal
Hard limits
- Never grants an exception
- Never closes an exception with missing controls
It stops when
- Done: the exception is closed or renewed with evidence
- Stop: the policy referenced does not exist
Set it up
We guide you through the set-up, step by step
Members get the full set-up guide for this agent. No technical skills needed: you copy, paste and upload.
- One set of instructions to paste into your AI, with the clicks for ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Gemini and Grok
- The agent then walks you through connecting your own data, one source at a time
- A downloadable copy with the flow chart, the rules and the full guide
