# LEN-0280 — Reference Stability Lens

## Ontology Metadata

Code: LEN-0280
Version: LEN-0280@0.1.0
Ontology release: 0.1.0
Updated: 2026-05-10T00:00:00Z
Canonical URL: /workbench/lenses/reference-stability-lens/

## Summary

Evaluates whether structural references, identifiers, nodes, and edges remain consistent across execution cycles or comparable states.

## Primary Pattern Matches

- PAT-0350 — Persistence Instability
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/persistence-instability/
  - Summary: A structural condition where persisted state cannot be stored and restored into an equivalent structure without alteration.
- PAT-0200 — Reference Instability
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/reference-instability/
  - Summary: A structural condition where references, identifiers, links, or anchors change across equivalent evaluations without a declared cause.
- PAT-0380 — Silent Mutation
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/silent-mutation/
  - Summary: A structural condition where a change occurs without a corresponding declared update, authority update, or version change.

## Secondary Pattern Matches

- PAT-0240 — Authority-State Mismatch
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/authority-state-mismatch/
  - Summary: A structural condition where observed system state no longer aligns with the declared authority state that is supposed to govern it.
- PAT-0210 — Non-Deterministic Execution
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/non-deterministic-execution/
  - Summary: A structural condition where equivalent inputs and declared constraints produce divergent outputs across executions.

## Related Issues

- ISS-0040 — Actual Policy Differs From Declared Policy
  - URL: /workbench/issues/actual-policy-differs-from-declared-policy/
  - Summary: The policy the AI or workflow actually follows differs from the policy that is documented, declared, displayed, or expected.
- ISS-0029 — AI Forgets Earlier Constraints
  - URL: /workbench/issues/ai-forgets-earlier-constraints/
  - Summary: A constraint, instruction, preference, or decision that should persist through the task stops affecting later output.
- ISS-0109 — AI Memory Has No Governance
  - URL: /workbench/issues/ai-memory-has-no-governance/
  - Summary: Saved or persistent AI memory affects output without clear rules for ownership, scope, review, update, expiry, or removal.
- ISS-0114 — AI Memory Updated Without Asking
  - URL: /workbench/issues/ai-memory-updated-without-asking/
  - Summary: AI memory, saved context, preference, or durable state is updated without the user clearly asking for or approving that update.
- ISS-0002 — Answer Has No Traceable Source Link
  - URL: /workbench/issues/answer-has-no-traceable-source-link/
  - Summary: The answer makes a claim, recommendation, citation, or factual statement without a source link or trace path that allows the user to verify where it came from.
- ISS-0043 — Behavior Does Not Match Declared Role
  - URL: /workbench/issues/behavior-does-not-match-declared-role/
  - Summary: The AI or agent behaves outside, below, or differently from the role, authority, responsibility, or permission posture declared for it.
- ISS-0085 — Cannot Identify Authoritative State
  - URL: /workbench/issues/cannot-identify-authoritative-state/
  - Summary: The user or workflow cannot tell which state, version, review result, decision, source, or output is currently authoritative.
- ISS-0003 — Citation Points to Wrong Source
  - URL: /workbench/issues/citation-points-to-wrong-source/
  - Summary: A citation, reference, link, or source pointer is present, but it points to the wrong source, wrong passage, wrong document, or unsupported evidence.
- ISS-0031 — Context Changes After Restore
  - URL: /workbench/issues/context-changes-after-restore/
  - Summary: Restoring, reopening, resuming, or reloading a task changes the context that the AI uses to continue the work.
- ISS-0032 — Context Leaks Between Tasks
  - URL: /workbench/issues/context-leaks-between-tasks/
  - Summary: Context, assumptions, constraints, examples, files, or decisions from one task affect another task where they should not apply.
- ISS-0015 — Declared Owner Cannot Control Outcome
  - URL: /workbench/issues/declared-owner-cannot-control-outcome/
  - Summary: A person, role, system, or policy is declared responsible for an outcome but does not have the actual authority or control needed to govern it.
- ISS-0094 — Early Model Output Gets Overweighted Downstream
  - URL: /workbench/issues/early-model-output-gets-overweighted-downstream/
  - Summary: An early AI output receives too much authority in later workflow steps, decisions, reviews, or generated artifacts.
- ISS-0048 — File-Bounded Task Uses Outside Content
  - URL: /workbench/issues/file-bounded-task-uses-outside-content/
  - Summary: The AI is asked to work only from a specific file or document but uses content, assumptions, or sources outside that file.
- ISS-0036 — Human Review and Automation Disagree
  - URL: /workbench/issues/human-review-and-automation-disagree/
  - Summary: A human review result and an automated AI or workflow result disagree without a declared rule for resolving the difference.
- ISS-0101 — Local Exception Grows Into Policy
  - URL: /workbench/issues/local-exception-grows-into-policy/
  - Summary: A local exception, special case, or one-off allowance begins to function like a general policy.
- ISS-0038 — Model and Workflow Disagree on Next Step
  - URL: /workbench/issues/model-and-workflow-disagree-on-next-step/
  - Summary: The AI model recommends or selects a next step that conflicts with the workflow state, required handoff, routing rule, or process sequence.
- ISS-0012 — No Owner for Agent Action
  - URL: /workbench/issues/no-owner-for-agent-action/
  - Summary: An agent action can affect the system without a declared responsible owner, authority, or accountable decision path.
- ISS-0056 — Old Output Expectations Survive Migration
  - URL: /workbench/issues/old-output-expectations-survive-migration/
  - Summary: Expectations from a prior model, prompt, schema, tool, or workflow survive a migration and continue shaping review or downstream handling after they should be replaced.
- ISS-0059 — Output Changed Without Declared Change
  - URL: /workbench/issues/output-changed-without-declared-change/
  - Summary: Output shape, content, format, fields, or behavior changes without a declared change to the prompt, schema, model, workflow, or governing rule.
- ISS-0079 — Policy Area Has No Examples
  - URL: /workbench/issues/policy-area-has-no-examples/
  - Summary: A policy, rule, standard, or guidance area has no examples showing how it should apply to real cases.
- ISS-0042 — Policy Update Not Reflected in Output
  - URL: /workbench/issues/policy-update-not-reflected-in-output/
  - Summary: A policy, rule, standard, or instruction has been updated, but the AI output still follows the older version.
- ISS-0058 — Prompt Behavior Changed Without Version Change
  - URL: /workbench/issues/prompt-behavior-changed-without-version-change/
  - Summary: A prompt begins producing different behavior even though no prompt version, model version, workflow version, or declared dependency change is recorded.
- ISS-0005 — Prompt Only Works After Retry
  - URL: /workbench/issues/prompt-only-works-after-retry/
  - Summary: The prompt fails, misroutes, or produces an unusable response on one attempt but works after retry without a meaningful change to the input.
- ISS-0080 — Relationship Map Has Missing Links
  - URL: /workbench/issues/relationship-map-has-missing-links/
  - Summary: A map of related Issues, rules, patterns, cases, fields, tools, or workflow steps is missing links needed to navigate or reason over the structure.
- ISS-0063 — Results Vary Too Much
  - URL: /workbench/issues/results-vary-too-much/
  - Summary: Repeated or comparable runs produce outputs that vary more than the task, workflow, or user can tolerate.
- ISS-0007 — Retry Makes the Problem Worse
  - URL: /workbench/issues/retry-makes-the-problem-worse/
  - Summary: A retry, repair attempt, regeneration, or follow-up instruction increases the error, expands the failure, or creates additional breakage instead of narrowing the problem.
- ISS-0041 — Revoked Approval Still Treated as Active
  - URL: /workbench/issues/revoked-approval-still-treated-as-active/
  - Summary: An approval, permission, exception, or authorization that was revoked continues to affect AI behavior or workflow decisions as if it were still active.
- ISS-0112 — Routing Overrides Task Intent
  - URL: /workbench/issues/routing-overrides-task-intent/
  - Summary: Routing, mode selection, agent behavior, or workflow classification sends the task down a path that overrides what the user was trying to accomplish.
- ISS-0055 — Rubric Changed but Results Did Not
  - URL: /workbench/issues/rubric-changed-but-results-did-not/
  - Summary: A review rubric, scoring rule, evaluation standard, or classification criterion changes, but AI results continue to reflect the old rubric.
- ISS-0057 — Same Contract Name Has Different Meanings
  - URL: /workbench/issues/same-contract-name-has-different-meanings/
  - Summary: The same prompt, schema, field, policy, tool, or workflow contract name is used in different places with different meanings.
- ISS-0072 — Same Instructions Allow Different Outputs
  - URL: /workbench/issues/same-instructions-allow-different-outputs/
  - Summary: The same instructions are broad or underspecified enough to allow materially different outputs that all appear compliant.
- ISS-0033 — Saved Memory Not Used
  - URL: /workbench/issues/saved-memory-not-used/
  - Summary: A saved memory, preference, instruction, or durable context item exists but does not affect the AI output when it should.
- ISS-0004 — Saved Reference No Longer Works
  - URL: /workbench/issues/saved-reference-no-longer-works/
  - Summary: A saved source, citation, file reference, prompt reference, or workflow pointer previously worked but no longer resolves to the expected object or meaning.
- ISS-0091 — Schema Reference Loops Without Base Case
  - URL: /workbench/issues/schema-reference-loops-without-base-case/
  - Summary: A schema, field, type, object, or structured reference points through a loop without a base case that allows validation or interpretation to resolve.
- ISS-0001 — Similar Cases Route to Different Outcomes
  - URL: /workbench/issues/similar-cases-route-to-different-outcomes/
  - Summary: Similar inputs, cases, prompts, or workflow states are routed to different outcomes without a declared difference that explains the split.
- ISS-0034 — Stale Context Affects Output
  - URL: /workbench/issues/stale-context-affects-output/
  - Summary: Old context, prior instructions, outdated references, or earlier task state continue to affect output after they should no longer apply.
- ISS-0030 — Task Progress Is Lost Midway
  - URL: /workbench/issues/task-progress-is-lost-midway/
  - Summary: The AI loses track of completed work, prior decisions, current position, or remaining steps before the task is finished.
- ISS-0006 — Validation Result Changes on Retry
  - URL: /workbench/issues/validation-result-changes-on-retry/
  - Summary: A validation, grading, review, classification, or pass/fail result changes after retry even though the input and declared validation rules did not change.
- ISS-0053 — Version Change Breaks Existing Prompt
  - URL: /workbench/issues/version-change-breaks-existing-prompt/
  - Summary: A prompt that previously produced usable results stops working after a version change in the model, tool, policy, schema, product surface, or workflow.