Decide what the mock-up must prove
Identify the item, revision and questions the review must resolve. A chair may need a comfort assessment; a desk may need a check of usable working space and cable access. Agree whether the sample uses final materials and hardware or contains temporary components. Record every deviation clearly. Otherwise, an approval may be interpreted as acceptance of a construction detail that the project team thought was only provisional.
Review the piece in realistic use
Use the intended context where practical: place the chair with the table, open the cabinet beside adjacent furniture and check the delivery or assembly approach for oversized pieces. Ask the operator and designer to review the aspects they are responsible for. Consider comfort, reach, usable space and cleaning access. Any safety, stability or accessibility assessment should be carried out against criteria established by the appropriate qualified project advisers.
Record observable findings
Use an item-based checklist, photographs and marked dimensions. Describe the issue precisely: a drawer interferes with a neighbouring handle, a seam sits in an unintended position, or a removable panel cannot be reached. Separate appearance preferences from functional defects and specification departures. Do not let a verbal conversation become the only record. Agree who reviews the correction and whether a revised sample, drawing or other evidence is needed.
Release production with a clear reference
Record the approved version and the conditions attached to it. A conditional approval should identify which work may proceed and which must wait. Retain the accepted mock-up or a documented reference as agreed, and make its relationship to drawings and finish samples clear. A good sample does not automatically prove that every later piece matches it, so define the checks required during repeated production and before shipment.
Project checklist
Before you release the order
- Identify the revision and any temporary components.
- Review comfort, fit, use and maintenance access.
- Record corrections and who accepts them.
- Define the reference for repeated production checks.
A useful question
Is one approved mock-up enough to guarantee the whole order?
No. It establishes an agreed reference, not a guarantee for every manufactured piece. The purchase scope should define how production conformity is reviewed, what evidence is recorded and how departures from the approved reference are handled.