The CNCF's technical and end user governance structure as of 2025 is organized as follows:

                +-----------------------------+
                | CNCF Governing Board (GB) |
                +-----------------------------+
                           |
        +------------------+------------------+
        | |
+-------------------+ +----------------------+
| Technical | | End User Technical |
| Oversight |<-----------> | Advisory Board (TAB) |
| Committee (TOC) | Feedback +----------------------+
+-------------------+ & Joint |
        | Sessions |
        | |
        | +-------------------------------+
        | | TAB Working Groups |
        | | - Reference Architecture |
        | | - Project Feedback |
        | | - Project Health Visibility |
        | +-------------------------------+
        | |
        | +-------------------------------+
        | | End User Groups / SIGs |
        | +-------------------------------+
        |
        | Oversees
        v
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) |
| - Developer Experience |
| - Infrastructure |
| - Operational Resilience |
| - Security and Compliance |
| - Workloads Foundation |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
        |
        | Each TAG may have:
        | - Subprojects
        | - Initiatives
        v
+-------------------+ +-------------------+ +-------------------+
| Subprojects | | Initiatives | | Technical Community|
| (long-lived) | | (short-term) | | Groups (TCGs) |
+-------------------+ +-------------------+ +-------------------+

Detailed Roles and Relationships:

1. TOC as the Main Technical Governing Body:

   • The Technical Oversight Committee (TOC) sets CNCF's technical vision, admits and manages projects, and provides ecosystem guidance.
   • It oversees Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs), Subprojects (ongoing efforts), Initiatives (short-term, goal-driven work), and Technical Community Groups (TCGs).
   • References: TOC Governance Overview, TAG Governance.

2. TAB as the End User Voice:

   • The End User Technical Advisory Board (TAB) represents organizations using CNCF projects in production.
   • It runs working groups (e.g., Reference Architecture, Project Feedback) and oversees End User Groups/SIGs focused on specific industries or challenges.
   • References: TAB Governance, End User Community.

3. TOC and TAB Collaboration:

   • The TOC and TAB maintain a feedback loop, sharing real-world adoption feedback, operational pain points, technical roadmaps, and project health insights.
   • They hold joint sessions to review priorities and ensure end user needs are reflected in technical direction.
   • References: TAB ↔ TOC Relationship, TOC README.

4. TAGs as Domain-Focused Technical Groups:

   • TAGs are long-lived, domain-focused groups (e.g., Developer Experience, Infrastructure, Security and Compliance) that provide technical guidance, review projects, and run subprojects and initiatives.
   • Each TAG has a charter, leads, regular meetings, and may spin up subprojects (ongoing work) or initiatives (short-term efforts).
   • References: TAG Governance doc, tags.yaml.

5. TCGs as Lightweight Community Groups:

   • Technical Community Groups (TCGs) are informal, topic-focused groups for community discussion and knowledge sharing.
   • They have minimal governance, no formal leads, and are not directly managed by the TOC. TCGs can incubate ideas that may later become formal initiatives or TAGs.
   • Reference: TOC Governance Summary.

For a comprehensive overview, see:

• CNCF Charter
• CNCF Foundation Governance Guide
• CNCF Blog: TOC Restructures Technical Groups (2025)
• CNCF Blog: Introducing the CNCF's End User Technical Advisory Board (TAB)