| # | Question (plain words) | The one fact to say first | Yes pulls in (resources.json ids) | No leaves out | If unsure ask | What it adds to the framework | Answer / disposition | Status | Owner | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What is it, who uses it, and where? | Not supplied by template; see explicit answer/disposition | Not supplied by template; see explicit answer/disposition | Not supplied by template; see explicit answer/disposition | Not supplied by template; see explicit answer/disposition | Feeds every line below. Answer as many of 2-21 as you can from this before asking any. | Basic C1: Standard mechanical catch-and-release trap for one mouse; manual checks and manual release. Adult homeowners | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 2 | Does it diagnose, treat, prevent or monitor a health problem, or go inside the body? | Health products have their own rules, and they decide early how heavy the road is. | iso-13485, fda-human-factors, iec-62366-usability; FDA device classification (not in library yet) | The medical sources | What claim would the box make: wellness, or treating something? | Medical road: FDA class decides the path. Design controls and usability records. Refer to a regulatory professional early. | No health, disease-prevention, diagnostic or treatment claim; FDA route excluded from scope | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 3 | Does it fly, or go on an aircraft, drone or spacecraft? | Aviation parts follow a stricter quality system and the aviation authority. | iaqg (AS9100); FAA (not in library yet) | Aerospace sources | Who would install it? | AS9100-style records and traceability. | No — neither flies nor attaches to aircraft; aviation route excluded | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 4 | Is it part of a car, truck or other vehicle, or mounted on one? | Vehicle suppliers usually work to the automotive quality system. | iatf, aiag-core-tools | Automotive sources | Is it sold to the car maker, or as an add-on to drivers? | AIAG core tools: PPAP-style records, process FMEA, control plan. Add-ons to drivers stay lighter. | No — no vehicle mounting; automotive route excluded | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 5 | Will the government or the military buy it? | Selling to the government uses a separate registration; ordinary customers do not need it. | sam-registration, apex-help, dla-business, assist | The contracting and military groups | Has a government buyer asked about it? | Registration road. Military specs only from question 6. | No government or military buyer; procurement route excluded | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 6 | (Military only) Will it see rough handling, weather or vibration, sit near radios, or ship in military packaging? | Military buyers name test standards in the contract. | mil-std-810 (environment), mil-std-461 (interference), mil-std-2073 (packaging), mil-std-129 (marking) | Each MIL-STD not named | Does the contract name any standard? | Only the standards the contract names. Test plan per standard. | Not applicable — no military contract or named military standard | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 7 | Does it plug into the wall? | Mains power usually means testing by a recognized lab before stores will take it. | ul-standards, osha-nrtl, iec-electrical, nfpa-70 | Mains-power sources | Will it have a cord or a charger? | Listing by a recognized lab (UL or similar). Safety test plan. Engineer for the power design. | No power source | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 8 | Does it have a battery, a circuit board or software? | Electronics bring their own risks: heat, battery safety, static. | ul-standards, iec-esd, tek-precompliance, digikey, jlcpcb, macrofab | The electronics shelf | What makes it work? | Electronics road (sop-gateways POWER). Battery and static checks. | No battery/circuit/software | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 9 | Does it send or receive anything wirelessly (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, radio), or have fast digital electronics? | Anything that radiates needs FCC authorization to be sold in the U.S. | fcc-measurement, fcc-modules, tuv-emc-planning, tek-precompliance | FCC and EMC sources | Will it connect to a phone? | FCC path. A pre-certified radio module saves cost. Pre-compliance test early. | No radio or fast digital host | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 10 | Is it a machine, or part of one, used in a shop or factory? | Industrial machines have their own electrical standard and guarding. | nfpa-79, nema-enclosures, automationdirect, misumi, festo-vacuum | Industrial sources | Who runs it: a worker on a line, or someone at home? | Machine safety and guarding. Industrial enclosures. | Consumer trap; not industrial machinery; internal prototype fixtures still need safe procedures | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 11 | Is it used outdoors, washed, rained on or submerged? | If it has to survive water, the case and switches must be sealed. | iec-60529, nema-enclosures, tuv-ingress | Sealing and IP ratings | Where will it live? | An IP or NEMA rating as a requirement. Seal test in the test plan. | Yes — empty shell washed; wash/aging checks planned | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 12 | Is it made for, or likely to be used by, children under 12? | Children's products need third-party testing and a certificate. | cpsc-small-business, cpsc-regulatory-robot; CPSIA children's products (not in library yet) | Children's product rules | Would a parent buy it for a child? | Third-party lab testing and a children's product certificate. Small-parts and lead checks. | Not intended for children; keep inaccessible; foreseeable use review still needed | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 13 | Does it touch food, drink, the mouth, or skin for long periods, or is it worn? | Materials that touch food or skin have rules about what they can be made of. | cpsc-regulatory-robot, ansur2-design-data, niosh-ergonomics-overview; FDA food-contact (not in library yet) | Food- and skin-contact sources | What is it made of where it touches? | Material choice becomes a requirement. Supplier material certificates. | No food/mouth or prolonged skin contact; captive bait pocket is not human food use | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 14 | Is it held, gripped, lifted or used over and over by hand? | Grip, weight and repeat use decide whether people keep using it. | niosh-hand-tools, niosh-tools, ansur2-design-data, sheet-ergonomics | Ergonomics sources | How long does someone use it at a time? | Ergonomics check sheet. User trial in the test plan. | Yes — grip, set, inspect, carry and release; ergonomics trial planned | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 15 | Could it hurt someone: moving parts, blades, heat, pressure, stored energy? | Products that can injure need a deeper failure look, and an engineer on that part. | asq-fmea, design-risk-guide, cpsc-best-practices, asq-mistake-proofing | Deep risk work (stay light) | What is the worst thing that could happen with it? | Quality depth for the product overall: light (about 5 items), ordinary (20-30) or deep. Separately, any area where a hidden defect could injure someone or start a fire gets a deep failure look for that area (failure, cause, effect, how it's caught, how it's prevented, engineer review), even when the rest is ordinary. Propose it; they confirm. Engineer referral for the hazard. A real injury hazard also brings the company-liability question forward. | Pinch, bites, contamination, small parts and animal distress; manual handling risk | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 16 | Will it be shipped by a carrier, or dropped in normal use? | Shipping is a test of its own; boxes get dropped. | ista-procedures, astm-d5276, iec-rough-handling | Shipping and drop tests | Will you mail it to customers? | Drop and package test in the test plan. | Yes — shipping/drop checks planned; no package qualification | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 17 | Where will it be sold: friends, your own website, Amazon, Walmart or Lowe's, or outside the U.S.? | Big stores and marketplaces have supplier rules; other countries have their own marks. | Stores: retail group, gs1-barcodes, sheet-retail. Outside U.S.: cenelec, iec-electrical; EU CE marking (not in library yet) | Retail and export sources | Where would you like to see it first? | Retail road: barcodes, supplier requirements, insurance often required by the store. Export marks. | U.S. own website, independent hardware, Amazon; no export; Drone no commercial sales | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 18 | Has a customer, contract or buyer named a standard or certification? | We keep our own quality list either way; a named standard is added only when someone requires it. | Only the named standard (look it up; assist or the standards body) | The standards shelf (our own sheets still apply) | Not supplied by template; see explicit answer/disposition | That standard's records and tests, nothing more. | No buyer named standard; internal quality tools are not ISO/automotive certification | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 19 | Do you want a company so the product's liability sits on it instead of on you? | A business entity, set up properly, can put the liability for the product on the business. It is not automatic. | sba-launch, sba-state-registration, usa-state-government, irs-ein, fincen-boi | Company formation (decision recorded; see sop-focus) | (sop-gateways BUSINESS ENTITY) | Formation tasks. If no: one-line checks later, e.g. product liability insurance instead. | Sample company yes; see company formation drafts; no LLC actually formed | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 20 | What are your thoughts on a patent? | Showing or selling it can make some protection harder to get later. You can still choose not to file. | inventor and legal groups: uspto-inventor-hub, uspto-iac, patent-pro-bono, patent-law-school-clinics, uspto-provisional, google-patents | Patent road (decision recorded) | (sop-gateways PATENT) | Patent options ladder: package for an attorney, free help, file it yourself, don't file. | Explore privately; no filing decision, no search or patentability opinion | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 21 | Will the next step need someone else's money? | Someone else's money comes with that person's rules. | funding group for the kind named (sbir, sba-lender, angel-groups, kickstarter-handbook) | Funding sources | (sop-gateways OUTSIDE MONEY) | Funding road for that kind of money only. | Owner-funded Basic feasibility; Hotel/Drone future spend unfunded; no outside-money application | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 22 | Does it attach to, fit, or depend on another company's product or brand (a robot, a phone, a car model, a tool system)? | Selling something made for another company's product raises their name, their specs and their warranty. Using their name to say what it fits is often allowed; using it as your brand is not. | trademark-basics; uspto-patent-overview (their patents on the product it fits); the maker's published accessory or developer program, if any (search their official site) | Brand and compatibility questions | Do they publish its sizes, weights and attachment points, or are you guessing from videos? | Brand line: how the product is named ('fits X' vs a name using X), checked against trademark-basics. Compatibility: which specs are official vs guessed (guesses stay open, never used as limits). Warranty: could using it void the host product's warranty. Route: the maker's accessory or partner program, if one exists. Their patents: a quick look before showing it. Lawyer if their name goes on the box. | No third-party brand fit claim | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 23 | Is it sold into a particular industry, or used somewhere unusual: railroad, mining, marine, oil and gas, a food plant, a hospital, washdown, a hazardous area? | Many industries have their own rules for equipment that the common standards miss. Railroad is one: rail buyers have their own specs for electronics, remote controls, enclosures and washdown. | Industry search (sop-resource-map step 4): search that industry's own specs for this kind of product, then add what turns up as found, not yet checked | Nothing extra; the common groups cover it | Who buys it, and where exactly does it get used? | That industry's spec as a requirement, with its source. Record the search and date even when nothing turns up. | Home/property use; no mining/rail/hospital/hazardous environment claims | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 24 | Does it have electronics, or will it be sold in Europe or California? | Electronics and some materials have rules on lead and other restricted substances. Suppliers usually supply the paperwork. | eu-rohs, eu-reach, ca-prop-65 | Materials and chemical rules | What is it made of, and where would it be sold first? | Supplier material declarations on the BOM. Prop 65 warning check if sold in California. | U.S. materials scope including California to review; resin declarations needed; no chemical certification | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 25 | Does it have a lithium battery, or will it ship by air? | Lithium batteries have their own shipping tests and carrier rules before anything goes in a box. | un-38-3-battery-shipping (not in library yet); carrier rules | Battery shipping | What kind of battery, and is it built in? | Battery shipping test and labels before the first shipment. Pairs with row 16. | No battery; no battery shipping route | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
| 26 | Will someone else make parts from your drawings or CAD files (a molder, a machine shop, a sheet-metal shop)? | Shops quote and make from the drawing. A drawing that follows the standard gets a real quote; a loose one gets a high number or the wrong part. | asme-y14-100 (drawing practices), asme-y14-5 (dimensioning and tolerancing), asme-y14-41 (3D model-based drawings); iso-1101 if the shop is outside the U.S. | The drawing standards (a 3D print or a hand-built prototype needs none) | Will you send the shop a drawing, a 3D model, or both? | A drawing procedure for this project written from the standard the shop works to, with the edition named on every drawing (sop-source-check.txt WHEN NO PROCEDURE COVERS IT). Critical dimensions on the compliance matrix. | Yes — proposed purchased tooling/parts; drawings and exact supplier process require engineering release | sample assumption; not regulatory clearance | Sam Reed | Verify selected route against actual design/jurisdiction before dependent gate |
Sample — fictitious company. All numbers and people are invented scenario assumptions. This is draft concept paperwork; no physical testing, customer evidence, certification, filing or sign-off has occurred.