The gradual deviation of the execution architecture from its original structural design.
Full Definition
Structural Drift refers to the progressive alteration of the system’s architectural configuration over time, without deliberate redesign.
It does not occur through formal restructuring.
It emerges through repeated adaptation.
Structural Drift forms when:
Decision Boundaries are informally reinterpreted
Activation Lines shift without recalibration
Authority Diffusion becomes normalized
Crisis Mode persists beyond containment
Execution shortcuts accumulate
Unlike Decision Drift, which affects intent translation, Structural Drift affects containment mechanisms themselves.
The architecture slowly changes shape.
What was once a boundary becomes permeable.
What was once escalation becomes negotiation.
What was once defined authority becomes interpretive influence.
Structural Drift reduces predictability.
Systems experiencing drift may still function, but they operate on modified containment logic.
Without intentional redesign, drift converts temporary adaptation into permanent distortion.
Structural Role in NAP
Within NAP, Structural Drift represents long-term architectural erosion.
It interacts directly with:
Decision Boundary stability
Activation Line precision
Accountability Structure alignment
Authority containment
Structural Drift often follows sustained:
Execution Debt
Decision Residue
Authority Diffusion
Escalation Saturation
It is the condition in which the execution system no longer reflects its original engineered design.
Drift is not collapse.
It is silent reconfiguration.
Engineering against Structural Drift requires periodic architectural recalibration.
