# Why Configuration Templates?

Once you federate Kafka ownership and put guardrails in place, the next bottleneck is expertise. Not every team has a Kafka SME, and the ones who do have their knowledge stuck in wikis and word of mouth. This short walkthrough covers the idea behind configuration templates, and why guardrails alone don't get you there.

## What You'll Learn

- Why enforcement gates what teams can't do, but never shows them what good looks like
- How configuration templates codify your platform team's expertise once
- Where templates and policies work together for self-service provisioning