definitions-governance

Canonical definitions governance maintains authoritative terminology sources to prevent drift across software and documentation projects. You need it when centralized terminology authority, synchronized indexes, and consistent term application are required across your repository.

You audit terminology drift by running a drift-audit against your configured canonical definitions source. This process identifies downstream terms that diverge from authoritative definitions and generates remediation targets to align them back to the canonical source.

To set up canonical definitions, configure your project to point to a centralized definitions source and run a drift-audit. This establishes clear authority boundaries, ensures canonical sources exist, and synchronizes downstream indexes to prevent in-repo term drift.

Yes, definitions governance is applicable to both software and documentation projects. It enforces project authority boundaries and coordinates drift audits with remediation targets across any repository requiring centralized terminology authority and consistent term application.

The best way to remediate downstream terminology drift is to use the remediation targets generated by the drift-audit. These targets align divergent terms back to the canonical definitions source, enforcing project authority boundaries and restoring synchronized indexes.

Terminology drift happens when downstream terms diverge from authoritative definitions without centralized tracking. Establishing a canonical definitions source with clear authority boundaries prevents drift by ensuring all terms remain traceable, synchronized, and consistently applied across the repository.