System checklist

What’s included

The source contracts define 68 design-system jobs. Use this as a working system map: filter the jobs, understand what Building Blocks can supply as a baseline, and keep product-local adoption separate.

One checklist. Three different questions.

The checklist says what a consuming product must have an opinion about. Building Blocks can still make a reusable baseline component available before a product needs it, and the product-local Catalog remains the authority on what that product actually specified, designed, and implemented.

Required

Product cannot ship the relevant UI without an explicit opinion.

May defer

Allowed only by naming the job not needed and who decides.

Conditional

Activates when the product has the named job.

Baseline availability is not the same as product adoption.

Tabs can be a complete reusable Building Blocks component even when a particular product legitimately defers Tabs. Conversely, a product’s component does not become In code just because Building Blocks has an implementation elsewhere.

Category
Requirement

68 visible jobs

31

Foundation

01
Layer 1 intake (Q1–Q6 + platform strategy)Product intent only the product owner can supply
Required
02
Color — five-layer + on-colorMeaning without relying on hue alone
Required
03
Type systemReadable hierarchy
Required
04
Spacing + grid + radiusRhythm and shape
Required
05
BreakpointsSame product, three contexts
Required
06
State systemOperable controls
Required
07
Focus ringKeyboard location
Required
08
Responsive meaningWhat changes at sm/md/lg
Required
09
Containment modelHow surfaces sit
Required
10
DensityInformation vs air
May defer
11
MotionFeedback without theater
Required
12
Overlay stacking / z-indexWhat sits on what
Required
13
Icon grammarSame hand
Required
14
Dark themeCharacter, not invert
Required
15
Touch + no hover-onlyOperable on phone
Required
16
Voice / contentWords as system
Required
17
Object / content modelWhat the UI is about
Required
18
Navigation modelWayfinding
Required
19
Command surfacesHow many ways in
Required
20
Interaction modesShared chrome, different jobs
Required
21
Dialog / overlay operabilityKeyboard can leave
Required
22
Defer-with-reasonHonest scope
Required
23
ContributionHow new UI enters the system
Required
24
Agent operating contractClosed world for builders
Required
25
No-model-in-productArchitecture, not copy
Required
26
SurfacesWhose look
Required
27
Document homesWhich store leads
Required
28
Token change pathWho may write
Required
29
Trust / compliance claimsHonest chrome
Required
30
Product vs site settingsTwo jobs, labels not a nested app
Required
31
Auth / rolesWho may act
Required or defer
31

Components by job

06

Patterns

Proposed baseline additions

External benchmark research surfaced recurring jobs that are not in the authoritative checklist. They remain proposals until explicitly approved.

Accordion / DisclosureProposed
AvatarProposed
PopoverProposed
Combobox / AutocompleteProposed
File uploadProposed
Toolbar / Action barProposed
Tree viewProposed
Steps / StepperProposed
Listbox primitiveProposed
Skeleton placeholderProposed

How source changes are handled →