Heh, that idea resonates with me. I’ve been contemplating some projects that will require pulling permits, and as part of that process have been trying to understand how an engineer reviewing my submitted plans would think.

While you could absolutely generate a list of compliance checks to execute like a formula, at the end of the day you need to have absorbed enough experience that, when presented a physical or imagined project, your brain is immediately able to make connections between what it sees and the general principles of how you build something correctly.

Since I don’t have that experience, I know I need to stick to the well-trod path. No clean-sheet deck construction methods for me. :)