How We Work: 8-Phase Governance & Compliance Methodology

Our 8-phase methodology helps you embed compliance, privacy, and ethics into your technology—transparently and efficiently.

1️⃣ Initial Consultation & Scoping

Kick off with a strategic scoping session to align on your business goals, risk appetite, and regulatory drivers—whether it’s GDPR, the EU AI Act, or ISO 27001. We map all your products, data flows, and legal frameworks in or out of scope, then assemble your core project team: DPO, IT lead, legal advisor, and our specialists. This phase establishes the foundation for your custom compliance roadmap and ensures every stakeholder is on the same page.
Outcome:

✔ Shared understanding of scope
✔ Clear project governance
✔ Stakeholder buy-in

2️⃣ Governance & Accountability Setup

We build your governance structure by defining roles and responsibilities with a RACI matrix—clarifying who’s Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each process. Privacy and Ethics by Design principles are embedded into your software development lifecycle. Finally, we formalize reporting lines and decision rights through a governance charter. This phase creates institutional accountability and sets the stage for sustainable compliance. Outcome:

✔ Institutionalized accountability
✔ Ethical design from Day 1
✔ Clear escalation paths

3️⃣ Audit, Risk Assessment & Gap Analysis

Using our risk assessment framework, we perform a comprehensive audit of your policies, processes, tools, and training programs. We map risks against GDPR, the AI Act, and industry best practices to produce a detailed gap report. Each finding is prioritized—quick wins are earmarked for immediate action, while long-term fixes are built into your strategic roadmap.
Outcome:  

✔ Measured baseline
✔ Prioritized actions
✔ Regulatory risk visibility

4️⃣ Strategy & Roadmap Development

We convert audit insights into a strategic plan with clear milestones—from drafting policies to deploying governance dashboards. We set KPIs such as percent risk closure, incident response times, and audit pass rates, then align your budget, resources, and timelines. This phase translates legal requirements into practical, measurable steps and becomes your single source of truth for project execution.
Outcome: 

✔ Realistic, achievable plan
✔ Internal alignment
✔ Focused, step-by-step execution

5️⃣ Policy & Procedure Design & Implementation

Our team drafts and implements all core compliance documents: Data Protection, AI Ethics, Incident Response, and Vendor Management policies. We deploy supporting tools—DPIA/PIA software, consent-management systems, and governance dashboards. Legal templates, including Data-Processing Agreements and DSAR workflows, are tailored to your use cases. This phase equips you with a complete compliance toolkit that’s ready for internal and external audits.
Outcome: 

✔ Complete compliance toolkit
✔ Ready-to-use governance stack
✔ Audit-ready documentation

6️⃣ Training, Awareness & Change Management

Compliance is only sustainable with people buy-in. We deliver role-based workshops for executives, product teams, and support staff. Our Privacy Champions program trains internal advocates who drive best practices every day. A tailored communications plan—including newsletters, intranet updates, and quick-reference guides—ensures ongoing awareness and reinforces a culture of compliance.
Outcome: 

✔ Culture of compliance
✔ Staff readiness
✔ Strong internal advocacy

7️⃣ Implementation Review & Go-Live

Before rolling out company-wide, we conduct an ISO-style management review to validate readiness. A pilot launch in a business unit or product line gathers real-world feedback. This feedback loop lets us fine-tune controls, dashboards, and training materials. With everything tested and optimized, you’ll have full confidence when moving to full production.
Outcome: 

✔ Controlled launch
✔ Stakeholder feedback loop
✔ “Go-live” confidence

8️⃣ Ongoing Support & Continuous Improvement

Compliance is never “done.” We provide quarterly audits, vulnerability scans, and policy refreshes. Our regulatory watch keeps you ahead of new EU AI Act updates, ePrivacy rules, and local data laws. Optionally, you can subscribe to our DPO as a service or ad-hoc legal check-ins. This continuous support ensures your program remains resilient, adaptive, and fully aligned with evolving regulations.
Outcome: 

✔ Long-term resilience
✔ Future-proof compliance
✔ Peace of mind

Governance & Compliance Deliverables Icon

📦 Deliverables Include
Gap Analysis Report with prioritized findings
Policy Document Set covering AI, data protection, and incident response
Training Decks and workshop materials
Governance Dashboard Access for real-time KPIs
DPIA & DSAR Templates ready to use
Audit-Readiness Checklist to track ongoing tasks 

🧠 Why This Approach Works

Our 8-phase methodology isn’t just a process — it’s a foundational, end-to-end framework for achieving sustainable governance and compliance.

  • Covers the full lifecycle: from assessment to ongoing support
  • Integrates legal, technical, and ethical layers
  • Aligns with key frameworks: GDPR, EU AI Act, ISO 27001, NIST AI RMF

Yet it’s also modular by design, so you can:

  • Address urgent needs without committing to full transformation
  • Select only the components that solve your current challenges
  • Scale as you grow — adding phases when the time is right

🔍 Choose What You Need — or Go All-In

Some clients come for a single service:

  • A DPIA for an AI product
  • A GDPR readiness audit
  • A tailored training program

Others follow the full 8-phase journey to build a lasting, future-proof compliance program.

Whichever you choose, we meet you where you are — and take you where you need to be. Learn more about our services to see how each phase delivers real value.