Snapshot Drift Preview
Before committing a checkpoint, a hash-based diff grouped by governed domain shows exactly what the new record will preserve — unchanged domains are marked explicitly so checkpoints accumulate meaningful labels.
The drift preview addresses a quiet governance problem in project archival: snapshots that are named with timestamps or generic labels rather than meaningful descriptions. When a team cannot easily see what changed before naming a checkpoint, they default to labels like "End of Week 14" or "Pre-Review Checkpoint" — labels that describe when, not what. Six months later, no one can tell from the snapshot inventory which record represents the rebaseline after the major scope change versus the routine status checkpoint from the previous period.
Pre-Commit Visibility
Before any new snapshot is written, the system presents a structured diff comparing the current workbook state against the most recently captured reference. The diff is grouped by governed domain — schedule activities and network links appear in one section, labor assignments in another, non-labor cost plans in another. Each domain section shows what was added, modified, or removed. Domains where nothing has changed since the prior checkpoint are explicitly marked as unchanged, so the planner can immediately see which parts of the plan the new record will meaningfully capture.
Deliberate Capture
The drift preview turns snapshot capture into a deliberate act. The planner sees the scope of what changed, writes a name and description that accurately reflects those changes, and confirms. Only then is the durable record written to the archive. This means the snapshot inventory accumulates records that are actually useful for historical review — each checkpoint has a meaningful label that explains what it represents, not just when it was taken.