FabOps — Product Development Operating System

PF Design Labs — 2025

What is FabOps?

FabOps is our open‑framework for documenting, validating and eventually automating fabrication processes — from PCB prototyping and laser ablation to FDM and resin printing. It closes the gap between one‑off maker prototypes and scalable small‑batch production by treating every workflow as code: versioned, reproducible and human‑readable.

Why FabOps?

• Ensures consistency across projects.
• Speeds up iteration while maintaining rigour.
• Makes decision‑history, tasks and deliverables transparent.
• Supports mixed human + AI workflows.
• Enables hardware/software/content to live in the same operational model.

Core Principles

• Iterative first — loops over waterfall.
• Lean structure — only what adds value.
• Agent‑friendly — clear, deterministic, machine‑readable.
• Advisor mode — human makes final call.
• Documentation‑first — decisions, tasks, phases are always tracked.

Repository Structure

/docs/                     → Manifest, governance + changelog  
/01.capabilities/          → Capability families (CAD design, hardware, electronics, software)  
/02.knowledge_base/        → Lifecycle knowledge hub + phase guides (`phase_capabilities.yaml`)  
/03.project_init/          → Bootstrap script + project templates  
/config/                   → Schemas + automation assets  
/knowledge_base/           → Measurement / readiness references linked from playbooks  
README.md                  → Entry point  
LICENSE

All folders, files and templates follow naming and structure conventions defined in the Operational Spec stored in docs/.

Getting Started

1. Clone the repo:

   git clone https://github.com/pfdesignlabs/FabOps.git

2. Review the operational specification: docs/FabOps_manifest.md.
3. Use the bootstrap script (when available) to start a new project with the standard structure.
4. Fill in your project inputs (product name, vision, constraints, etc.).
5. Let the agent generate the folder structure and templates.
6. Commit the initial scaffold. Start executing tasks.

For Engineers & Makers

• Each capability family under 01.capabilities/ explains scope, deliverables, maturity path and sub-capabilities.
• Project workspaces mirror the capability blueprint (README, open_actions.md, decisions.md, assets/, data/).
• 02.knowledge_base/ contains the lifecycle guide; knowledge_base/ stores detailed measurement/readiness references linked from playbooks and gate reviews.

For AI Agents

• The repository layout and config demonstrate machine‑readable structure (fabops.config.json).
• Agents signal phase transitions, blockers, missing documents and update the config JSON.
• Agents adhere to advisor mode: they propose, human validates.

Versioning & Governance

• Spec version: v1.0.0
• Framework follows Semantic Versioning (SemVer).
• Each project records the spec version used in its fabops.config.json.
• Major changes to the spec go through a review process, version bump and changelog.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.

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Contributing

We welcome contributions.
Please open issues for suggestions, improvements or modular capabilities.
For significant changes (especially to the core specification), submit a pull request and reference the versioning guidelines.