What is the difference between architecture drift and technical debt?
Technical debt is usually a known shortcut you intend to repay. Drift is unknown: the gap between belief and reality. Debt is a decision with a cost; drift is a decision nobody made, which is why it is harder to plan around.
From Architecture drift: what it is and how to catch it, published 9 August 2026. That article is where the reasoning behind this answer is set out, including what it does not cover.