Model boundaries

Manifold models the part of an operation relevant to a bounded decision. It does not need an exhaustive representation of the world.

Confirmed state

The current digital twin contains operational facts accepted by the system. Stable identities remain distinct from changing state, and retained provenance records where information came from.

Desired state

Work describes what must become true, together with its constraints and objectives. It does not prescribe the sequence of changes used to reach that outcome.

Permitted change

A mutation declares a reusable change Manifold may consider. It defines roles, requirements, temporary resource uses, and persistent transformations without binding concrete entities or granting execution approval.

Proposed plan

Planning binds resources, evaluates alternatives, and schedules mutations. A plan contains predicted state and remains separate from confirmed operational truth.

Observed result

An observation records what happened. It can update confirmed state through a new traceable change; selecting a plan does not silently make its predictions true.