Glossary entry

Technical reversibility

Definition

The mechanism for undoing an action exists and works. The switch throws, the rollback completes, the state restores, and a test proves it on the version of the system currently running. It is the first of three levels of reversibility.

It matters as a floor rather than a finding. Technical reversibility is the cheapest of the three levels to claim and the least informative, because a working switch says nothing about whether operational reversibility or institutional reversibility would survive it being thrown.

Agency

Tests that show it is in place

  • The rollback path is exercised against the current build, not a past one.
  • Restore completeness is measured, including derived state and downstream caches.
  • A failed rollback test blocks release rather than producing a follow-up ticket.

Evidence to keep

  • Artifact: A rollback test report against the current build, with restore completeness measured.
  • Behavior: A rollback executed in a drill that restored state without manual repair.
  • Metric: Rollback success rate and time to recover, per release.

Related terms

Reversibility Restoration completeness Graceful rollback lanes

References

Cite this glossary entry · v1.17.1 · updated Oct 6, 2026 · CC BY-SA 4.0

APA

Ethotechnics Institute. (2026). Technical reversibility. Ethotechnics glossary. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/technical-reversibility

MLA

Ethotechnics Institute. "Technical reversibility." Ethotechnics glossary, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/technical-reversibility.

Chicago

Ethotechnics Institute. "Technical reversibility." Ethotechnics glossary. Oct 6, 2026. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/technical-reversibility.

BibTeX

@misc{glossary_technical-reversibility,
  title={Technical reversibility},
  author={Ethotechnics Institute},
  year={2026},
  howpublished={Ethotechnics glossary},
  url={https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/technical-reversibility},
  version={v1.17.1}
}

RIS

TY  - WEB
TI  - Technical reversibility
AU  - Ethotechnics Institute
PY  - 2026
UR  - https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/technical-reversibility
ER  -

Authorship

Contact: hello@ethotechnics.org

Publication details

  • Published: Dec 3, 2025
  • Last updated: Oct 6, 2026
  • Version: v1.17.1

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

Credit Ethotechnics Institute, include the term title and version, and link to the glossary permalink.

Archive: Wayback Machine history

Latest change

v1.17.1 · Oct 6, 2026 — Editorial revision. Titles are in sentence case. Pasted spec blocks are replaced with prose and worked examples, 79 operational tests are rewritten as pass conditions, 22 origin notes are rewritten or sourced, and unsourced superlatives are cut. No terms were added or removed, and permalinks are unchanged.

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