Ownership and Roles Map · WCN Brand Portal

WCNOWNERSHIP & ROLES MAP

08 · GOVERNANCE → A

Ownership & roles · A

Who owns
the brand.

A brand without an owner drifts. This cluster names the steward, the decision rights, and the path for anyone who wants to contribute. Tap any card to open its spec.

STEWARD

RACI

APPROVAL

COUNCIL

GUIDE

40%

OWNERSHIP COVERAGE

1 shipped

2 in progress

2 planned

08A01 Brand steward DONE

Every brand needs a name on the door. The brand steward is the single accountable owner of this system — the person who can say yes, say no, and be held to it.

ROLEBrand steward MANDATESystem integrity REPORTSTo leadership TENURENamed · standing

A01.1 · THE ROLE

A single name.

The steward is one person, not a committee. They hold final say on the brand system and carry the consequences — clarity of ownership is what keeps a brand from drifting.

HOLDEROne person

SCOPEWhole system

SAYFinal · binding

BACKUPNamed deputy

A01.2 · THE MANDATE

Protect the system.

The mandate is to keep the brand coherent as it scales — guarding the rules, approving change, and resolving disputes before they fragment the identity.

GUARDThe rules

APPROVESystem change

RESOLVEDisputes

REVIEWQuarterly

A01.3 · ESCALATION

When to go up.

Most calls stop with the steward. Decisions that affect strategy, legal exposure or budget escalate to leadership on a defined path — never improvised.

STOPSWith steward

UPStrategy · legal

PATHDefined

SPEED48h target

A01.4 · WHAT THEY DON’T OWN

Clear limits.

The steward owns the system, not every artefact. Teams own their work; the steward owns the standard it is held to. The line is written down to avoid bottlenecks.

OWNSThe standard

NOTEvery asset

TEAMSOwn their work

LINEDocumented

DON'T

Don't split the role — One accountable owner, not a committee.

Don't leave it unnamed — “The team” owns nothing.

Don't bottleneck everything — Own the standard, not every file.

Don't skip the deputy — Continuity needs a named backup.

“A brand with everyone in charge has no one in charge.”

08A02 RACI & rights WIP

When a decision stalls, it is usually because no one knows who owns it. RACI maps every brand decision to one accountable person and the people around them.

MODELRACI ROLESR · A · C · I MATRIXPer decision type RULEExactly one A

A02.1 · THE MODEL

Four letters.

Responsible does the work; Accountable owns the outcome; Consulted gives input; Informed is told. Every brand decision is tagged against these four.

RDoes the work

AOwns outcome

CGives input

IIs informed

A02.2 · DECISION TYPES

What counts.

Decisions are grouped — visual change, new application, partner co-brand, exception. Each type has a fixed RACI so the same call is never re-litigated.

VISUALSystem change

NEWApplication

PARTNERCo-brand

EXCEPTOne-off

A02.3 · THE MATRIX

One owner each.

The matrix names the Accountable person per decision type — exactly one. Multiple A’s mean no owner; that is treated as a defect to fix, not a style.

A COUNTExactly one

VISIBLEPublished

REVIEWQuarterly

DEFECTMultiple A’s

A02.4 · EDGE CASES

When it’s unclear.

New decision types route to the steward, who assigns RACI and adds it to the matrix. Ambiguity is resolved once, then documented forever.

NEW TYPETo steward

ASSIGNThen log

SPEEDOne pass

RESULTMatrix grows

DON'T

Don't allow two A’s — Exactly one accountable per decision.

Don't hide the matrix — If it is not published, it is not real.

Don't confuse R and A — Doing is not the same as owning.

Don't re-decide types — Fixed RACI per type, every time.

“Clarity about who decides is faster than any tool.”

08A03 Approval authority WIP

Not every decision needs the steward. Approval authority tiers decisions by risk and spend, so routine work moves fast and high-stakes work gets the right eyes.

TIERSBy risk · spend SIGNERSNamed per tier DELEGATIONDocumented LOGAudit trail

A03.1 · THE TIERS

Three levels.

Tier 1 is routine and self-approved against the guidelines; Tier 2 needs a lead; Tier 3 — anything novel, public or legal — needs the steward.

T1Routine · self

T2Lead sign-off

T3Steward

BASISRisk · spend

A03.2 · WHO SIGNS

Named, not roles.

Each tier names actual signers with backups, so approval never waits on a vacant chair. The list is published beside the RACI matrix.

NAMEDReal people

BACKUPPer signer

PUBLISHEDWith RACI

VACANCYBackup acts

A03.3 · DELEGATION

Passing the pen.

Authority can be delegated for a period — leave, scale — but only in writing, with scope and an end date. Verbal delegation does not exist.

FORMWritten only

SCOPEDefined

ENDDated

VERBALNever

A03.4 · AUDIT TRAIL

A record of yes.

Every Tier 2 and 3 approval is logged — what, who, when. The trail makes exceptions visible and keeps the system honest under review.

LOGT2 · T3

FIELDSWhat · who · when

VISIBLETo steward

USEAudit · review

DON'T

Don't route everything up — Tier 1 self-approves — protect speed.

Don't delegate verbally — In writing, scoped, dated.

Don't skip the log — Unrecorded approvals can’t be audited.

Don't leave tiers vague — Risk and spend define the line.

“Fast where it’s safe, slow where it’s not.”

08A04 Design council PLANNED

The design council is the steward’s standing forum — a cross-team group that reviews proposals, surfaces conflicts early, and keeps the brand evolving with one voice.

FORUMCross-functional CADENCEMonthly CHARTERWritten AGENDAStanding

A04.1 · PURPOSE

Decide together.

The council exists to make system-level calls with the people they affect in the room — design, product, marketing, legal — so decisions stick the first time.

MAKESSystem calls

WITHAffected teams

GOALDecisions that stick

NOTA status meeting

A04.2 · MEMBERSHIP

Who sits at it.

A small core — steward plus one lead per function — with guests invited per topic. Small enough to decide, broad enough to represent.

CORESteward + leads

SIZE6–8

GUESTSPer topic

CHAIRSteward

A04.3 · CADENCE & CHARTER

A written rhythm.

Monthly by default, with an async path for urgent calls. A one-page charter defines scope, quorum and how decisions are recorded.

CADENCEMonthly

URGENTAsync path

QUORUMDefined

CHARTEROne page

A04.4 · STANDING AGENDA

Same shape, every time.

Proposals, conflicts, exceptions, roadmap. A fixed agenda means people arrive prepared and the meeting ends with decisions, not actions to schedule another meeting.

ITEMSProposals · conflicts

THENExceptions · roadmap

OUTDecisions logged

LENGTH60 min

DON'T

Don't let it bloat — Six to eight who can decide.

Don't make it a status update — It is for decisions, not reports.

Don't skip the charter — Scope and quorum in writing.

Don't leave without decisions — Every item resolves or routes.

“The right people in one room beats ten threads.”

08A05 Contributor guide PLANNED

A living system needs new input. The contributor guide is the open door — how anyone can propose a change, what to include, and what happens after they hit send.

WHOAnyone FORMATProposal template SLA2 weeks OUTCOMEMerge · defer · decline

“

A05.1 · WHO CAN

Everyone, really.

Contribution is open to any team member, not just designers. The best fixes often come from the people hitting the rough edges in daily work.

OPENAll teams

NOT JUSTDesigners

WHYClosest to the problem

CREDITNamed

A05.2 · HOW TO PROPOSE

One template.

A short proposal: the problem, the suggested change, and one example. The template keeps submissions comparable and quick to review.

PROBLEMWhat’s wrong

CHANGESuggested fix

EXAMPLEOne

LENGTHOne page

A05.3 · THE SLA

A reply in two weeks.

Every proposal gets a response within two weeks — accepted, deferred with a reason, or declined with a reason. Silence is treated as a process failure.

RESPONSE≤ 2 weeks

STATESMerge · defer · decline

REASONAlways given

SILENCEA defect

A05.4 · AFTER SUBMISSION

What happens next.

Accepted changes are scheduled into a version; deferred ones join the backlog with a trigger. Nothing disappears — the contributor can always see where it went.

MERGEInto a version

DEFERBacklog + trigger

VISIBLETo author

CLOSEThe loop

DON'T

Don't ignore proposals — Two-week reply, always.

Don't gatekeep by title — Anyone can propose.

Don't decline without reason — Say why — it teaches the system.

Don't lose the backlog — Deferred is tracked, not dropped.

“A system that can’t take input slowly stops being true.”

In progress

The chain of ownership.

The steward role is named and live; decision rights and approval authority are drafting. Council and contributor paths are scoped — the people layer that keeps every other rule enforceable.

WCN Ownership & Roles Map · 5 topics · A01–A05

08 · GOVERNANCE · A · v1.0