Decision 1: what sample is approved?
Name the physical sample, photograph it from agreed views and give it a revision. Record the reference size, last, upper, sole unit and colour standard. If approval is only visual, say so. A visual approval should not silently become approval of a compound or construction that has not been evaluated.
Keep a decision log from prototype rounds. Each entry should identify the concern, the action and the person who accepted the change. This protects the team from reverting to an earlier version because that version happens to be the one in a presentation deck.
Decision 2: what makes it repeatable?
Connect the sample to drawings, material identifiers, tooling revisions and assembly instructions. Specify the dimensions and appearance boundaries that matter. If several sizes are planned, identify which proportions are scaled and which need separate engineering review. A single reference size cannot resolve every size-specific issue.
Record any process window that the factory and buyer have agreed to control. A prototype made through a temporary route may need another round before it can serve as a production master. Ask the manufacturing team to confirm feasibility rather than assuming that a beautiful sample is ready for scale.
Decision 3: how will it be evaluated?
Select tests from the risks in the brief. For a bonded finished shoe, upper-to-sole adhesion may be relevant; ISO 17708 describes one such method. For a ground-contact component, abrasion or friction may matter. Each result needs its specimen and conditions so it can be interpreted correctly.
Agree acceptance criteria before the production lot arrives. A test performed after the fact cannot resolve a missing limit by itself. Decide how appearance, dimensions and technical results are weighed when they conflict, and identify who can approve a deviation.
Decisions 4 and 5: who owns changes, and what ships?
Define which party approves substitutions, repairs and process changes. Establish when a revision needs a new sample or focused retest. The production record should reveal changes that occurred after the signed sample, not conceal them inside an updated file name.
Finally, confirm the purchase scope: component or complete shoe, size mix, packaging, inspection evidence, delivery terms and after-sales contact. Link these commercial details to the same approved version. A good handover lets design, production and buyer teams answer the same question: which product are we actually making?
Put the thinking to work.
Turn your application and priorities into a project brief.