Definitions
In plain terms
Columns may be added, types may change, or an existing code can gain a new meaning. Consumers need to detect and classify those changes.
Technical
Detection compares versioned contracts for fields, types, required status, enumerations, units, identifiers, semantics, and compatibility direction.
Scope
Not every change is breaking; severity depends on the consumer contract and migration policy.
Examples
- A governed dataset records schema drift explicitly and preserves the source context needed to interpret it.
Common misconceptions
- Schema Drift does not have one universal meaning or policy without its declared source, scope, and data contract.
Concept relationships
Related
Required by
Where this concept is used
Evidence and governance
- JSON Schema Validation: A Vocabulary for Structural Validation JSON Schema · official standard
Supports: preferred label, short definition, technical definition
Limits: It defines instance validation, not financial semantics, release severity, compatibility, precision, or schema-drift policy.
- Fintech Builder Glossary Definition Contract The Fintech Builder · internal governed contract
Supports: variant distinction
Limits: Defines governed platform behavior rather than claiming these policies are universally prescribed by external McClellan methodology.
- Reviewed by
- fintech-builder-owner-approved
- Last reviewed
- 2026-07-26
- Next review
- 2027-07-26
- Record status
- published