AI governance should continue after approval. A monitoring plan connects the conditions under which a use case was approved to observable signals that can reveal when performance, use, data, safeguards, or operating assumptions have changed.
Start from the approved use case
Review the documented purpose, users, data, model or service version, integrations, human oversight, known limitations, prohibited uses, and approval conditions. Monitoring should test whether those assumptions remain true in operation.
Select signals that support decisions
Useful signals may include error rates, overrides, escalations, user complaints, safety events, policy violations, drift indicators, unusual usage, access changes, vendor changes, or failed human-review steps. Choose measures that can lead to a defined response rather than collecting metrics simply because they are available.
Set ownership and review cadence
Name who receives alerts, who reviews trends, how often the use case is reassessed, and what evidence should be retained. NIST AI RMF materials organize AI risk management around Govern, Map, Measure, and Manage, and NIST resources include methods supporting testing, evaluation, verification, and validation across deployment and operation.
Define thresholds and actions
For important signals, document what triggers investigation, additional testing, restricted use, rollback, vendor review, or temporary suspension. Thresholds should reflect the actual use case and risk rather than a generic number copied from another system.
Review changes, not only incidents
A new model, feature, data source, integration, user population, or business purpose can invalidate earlier assumptions even when no incident has occurred. Link material changes to the AI change-review process.
Keep specialist judgments with qualified reviewers
Operational monitoring can surface evidence and route concerns. It does not determine legal compliance, clinical safety, employment fairness, financial suitability, or other regulated or professional conclusions on behalf of qualified decision-makers.
Related knowledge
Use this guide with AI Vendor Change Review, AI Governance Evidence, AI Use-Case Approval Records, and AI Incident Escalation.
References
This resource supports operational governance and does not replace qualified legal, regulatory, clinical, financial, employment, safety, accessibility, privacy, or other professional review.