# GOV-05 Change management authority

Domain: GOV Governance & Accountability · HI-AAF v1.3 · Public review · https://humanintel.net/standard/gov/gov-05

A change management process governs material modifications to agent prompts, tools, model versions, or scope. Material changes require re-assessment under Domain 2.

Material changes to an agent, model swap, scope expansion, tool addition, prompt modification, require approval at a documented level before reaching production. The change management process defines what constitutes a material change, who approves it, and what re-assessment is triggered. Changes that bypass the process are treated as incidents.

## Maturity

- L1 Ad hoc: Controls exist informally; documentation is incomplete; no consistent review.
- L2 Documented: Controls are written down; ownership is assigned; review cadence is defined.
- L3 Operated: Controls are followed in practice; evidence is collected; deviations are tracked. Published criterion for GOV-05: Change management process is documented and followed; material changes are logged with approval records; at least one material change in the prior period went through the full process including re-assessment.
- L4 Measured: Control effectiveness is measured against documented thresholds; trends are reported.
- L5 Continuously Improved: Controls evolve based on incident learning; maturity gains are evidenced over time.

## Evidence an assessor asks for

- Change management process is documented and followed.
- Material changes are logged with approval records.
- At least one material change in the prior period went through the full process including re-assessment.

## Framework mappings

- NIST AI RMF: GOVERN 1.3, GOVERN 1.4
- ISO/IEC 42001: 7.5, A.3.2
- SOC 2 (TSC): CC8.1
- EU AI Act: Art. 9(9), Art. 17(1)
- Singapore: MAIGF Internal Governance

Mappings are directional: meeting this control evidences but does not by itself satisfy the external requirement.

## Related

- Cited by GOV-10 Vulnerability disclosure: https://humanintel.net/standard/gov/gov-10
- Cited by OUT-10 Fairness monitoring in production: https://humanintel.net/standard/out/out-10
- Cited by OUT-12 Model version pinning: https://humanintel.net/standard/out/out-12
- Cited by MON-04 Drift monitoring: https://humanintel.net/standard/mon/mon-04
- Glossary: Material change: https://humanintel.net/standard/glossary#material-change

## Cite this control

Human Intelligence. HI-AAF v1.3, GOV-05 Change management authority. Public review edition, July 2026. https://humanintel.net/standard/gov/gov-05