memories/aipm-playbook-ai-spend-governance-36656cdf.md

memory

Purpose

Define spend justification and cost allocation procedures for AI initiatives, as decided by the AI Steering Committee on Sep 2, 2026.

Spend Justification

  • Experiments / POCs: Requires a defined [[Thesis]] (what are we trying to learn and why) rather than financial ROI.
  • Production: Requires documented ROI, owned by the consuming business/domain team, not AI Ops.

Cost Allocation

  • LLM/API utility spend is reallocated to the consuming department's cost center. AI Ops is responsible for cost estimation and consumption projections, but business units own the financial return/value justification.

Accountability

  • AI Ops serves as the provider and analyst, not the 'police department' for departmental spend.
  • Business leaders are accountable for ROI and usage plans (e.g., Michael Ko's budget conversations with leadership beginning Sep 7, 2026).