A design system is a product with internal users, and like any product it fails on process far more often than on craft.

The question that kills it

A team needs a variant that does not exist, and they need it this week. If the answer is "open a request and wait for the next cycle", they will build their own, and once one team has done that the system is a suggestion. If the answer is "here is how to extend it, and here is how it comes back to us", the system survives contact with real deadlines.

What working governance looks like

• A documented contribution path with a realistic turnaround, and someone whose job includes reviewing contributions.
• An escape hatch that is sanctioned rather than shameful. Teams will deviate; make the deviation visible instead of hidden.
• Versioning and a deprecation policy, so consumers can upgrade on their own schedule.
• Adoption measured per component. It tells you which parts earn their place and which nobody wanted.

The components are the easy part. They are also the part everyone plans for.