Criteria Audit

A repeatable audit for "should I build this?" questions. The goal is not to encourage or discourage — it is to make the judgement structural.

When to use

• User asks whether a product / direction / idea is worth doing.
• User asks for a go/no-go decision, or a stop-loss.
• User wants to compare two candidate directions.

Steps

1. Compress into one line [who] pays [how much] for [what they can take and use] If "who pays" is unclear, say so and stop.
2. Three hard criteria
   • ① Deliverable usable: can the user take something away and use it? (Content/analysis/opinion → no.)
   • ② Non-employment income: is the money paid outside an employment relationship? (Salary → no; ads/IAP ≈ 0; direct payment → yes.)
   • ③ Portable: after leaving the employer/platform, is it still theirs? All three must pass; otherwise it does not produce autonomy.
3. Three axes (keep separate, never merge)
   • Compliance: only the three criteria above.
   • Feasibility: minimum scale to monetize, distance from current skills, free tools solving 80%, AI test.
   • Risk: single point of cut (platform/payment/compliance), AI commoditization, competition.
4. AI test
   • Can a free LLM / code agent reach 80 points in 10 minutes? End-to-end?
   • What is the remaining 20% (accountability, context, integration, trust, compliance, maintenance) — and is any of it yours?
5. Pricing threshold (if it charges money) Check: DIY cost ≥ 2× price; something AI can't get; verifiable; measurable; repeatable.
6. Quadrant & decision
   • complies × feasible → do it, validate in small steps
   • complies × not feasible → change form / wait / side line
   • doesn't comply × feasible → cash flow only, not autonomy
   • doesn't comply × not feasible → drop
7. Stop-loss Write time box + a single binary metric.

Output format

Object: ...
One line: who / pays how much / gets what
① usable: yes/no  ② non-employment: yes/no  ③ portable: yes/no
→ all three? ...

Feasibility: min scale __ / distance __ / free or AI 80%? __ / AI test: __/10
Risk: single point __ / compliance __ / AI commoditization __ / competition __

Verdict: do / cash flow only / change form / drop
Stop-loss: __ weeks, metric: __

Rules

• Never invent facts about the user's situation; ask or mark as unknown.
• Keep the three axes separate; do not let feasibility or risk impersonate compliance.
• If the object is content with no price, say plainly it is a channel, not a product.