Conformance to BASICS is intentional and progressive. The three tiers — Core, Field, and Industrial — inherit cumulatively. A product at the Field tier must satisfy all Core controls; Industrial must satisfy all Field and Core controls.
Tier claims must be backed by published, auditable evidence. Self-attestation is permitted at Core and Field tiers. Industrial tier requires Babb review or a delegated partner review.
Scoring Model
Mandatory controls are pass/fail. A single failing mandatory control prevents tier claim at that level.
Optional controls use a 0–3 maturity score:
- 0 — Not addressed
- 1 — Partially addressed, no evidence
- 2 — Addressed with internal evidence
- 3 — Addressed with published, externally verifiable evidence
Core Tier Checklist
### Command Surface
| ID | Control | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BASICS-SC-001 | Command contract published at stable versioned URI | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-002 | Every command declares minimum schema version | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-003 | Breaking changes increment major version | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-004 | Command contract is machine-parseable | Mandatory |
### Record Operations
| ID | Control | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BASICS-SC-010 | Create and read without network access | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-011 | Durable local ID assigned at creation | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-012 | Published event schema for record mutations | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-013 | Records carry schema version field | Mandatory |
### Interoperability
| ID | Control | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BASICS-SC-020 | Interoperability declaration published | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-021 | Declared formats reference versioned spec | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-022 | Compatibility policy published | Mandatory |
### Versioning
| ID | Control | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BASICS-SC-030 | All artifacts carry semver version | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-031 | ADR history maintained for breaking changes | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-032 | Degraded-mode matrix published | Mandatory |
Field Tier Checklist
All Core controls, plus:
| ID | Control | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BASICS-SC-040 | Degraded-mode test evidence published | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-041 | Conflict comparison contract published | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-042 | Sync and conflict status surface exposed to operator | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-043 | Constrained deployment validated (≤ 512 MB RAM or equivalent field target) | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-044 | Offline operation validated by automated test output | Mandatory |
Industrial Tier Checklist
All Field controls, plus:
| ID | Control | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BASICS-SC-050 | Security lifecycle evidence published (CVE response process, patch SLA) | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-051 | Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) published | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-052 | Publishable conformance results (full checklist outputs) | Mandatory |
| BASICS-SC-053 | Babb or delegated partner review completed | Mandatory |
Registering a Deviation
Products may register formal deviations from mandatory controls using the Deviation Registry. A registered deviation must:
- Reference the specific rule ID being deviated
- State the rationale
- Propose an equivalent or compensating control
- Carry a durable deviation identifier (format:
DEV-[YYYY]-[NNN])
Deviations are not approvals — they are transparent disclosures. Babb may flag deviations as accepted, under review, or rejected in the public registry.
View Deviation Registry
Submit a Deviation