Questions that expose a hidden catalogue decision

A project can appear well specified because every screen has a name. The more useful test is whether the organisation can answer what those screens mean. These questions help identify decisions that otherwise surface late, when someone expects the developer to guess.

Which source can correct the others?

If a product page, drawing and spreadsheet disagree, who identifies the authoritative value? The answer may differ by field. A technical drawing may establish a dimension while a commercial record establishes the permitted sales unit. Record those responsibilities rather than appointing one convenient file as the source of everything.

When are two items actually different?

A different finish, pack size or revision may change the saleable identity, or it may simply describe the same product in another context. The product owner must explain the distinction. It affects comparison, stock references, enquiry records and integration mappings.

Use two examples that look similar and ask what would go wrong if they were merged. Then use two records that look different and ask whether they are actually aliases of the same item. Both tests can reveal assumptions hidden in a migration.

What is the document for?

A drawing used to identify installed equipment has a different purpose from a current sales specification. A certificate may apply to a defined product or period rather than every item on the page. Decide which statement the download supports and who approves its public use.

Retiring a product should not automatically erase all historical information. Equally, retaining a document should not imply that its item is still available to order. The page explanation needs the business's decision.

What happens when only one language is ready?

A technical correction can be approved before its Polish explanation is reviewed. Decide what users should see during that interval. An unchanged translation may be misleading, but an unreviewed replacement can be worse. The publishing workflow needs an explicit state and an owner for resolution.

Who can authorise the last change?

Late feedback may arrive from sales, technical staff and management. Name the person who resolves conflicting instructions, and retain the approved decision. A developer's ability to deploy a change does not supply authority to choose the business rule.

Bring unanswered questions into project planning. They are useful evidence about the work still needed. The objective is a proposal whose assumptions are visible and whose first release can be reviewed against decisions the organisation actually made.