Difference Significance Rules

Allowed significance:

• none
• low
• moderate
• high
• critical
• unclear

Definitions:

• none: formatting or presentation only.
• low: wording, style, or granularity with preserved role and backbone.
• moderate: decomposition, schema placement, or role assignment changes without clear backbone change.
• high: changes branches, loops, entry, exit, reachability, stopping rules, or central roles.
• critical: invalidates direct comparison or reveals an instrument or data defect.
• unclear: insufficient evidence.

Every difference also carries a backbone-impact classification:

• none
• elaboration_only
• localized
• material
• unknown