# Publication QA Checklist

## Figure QA

Check:

- Is the chart family appropriate for the scientific claim?
- Are axes labeled clearly, with units when needed?
- Is category ordering meaningful and stable?
- Are color choices readable in grayscale or for color-deficient readers?
- Are fonts, line weights, and marker sizes internally consistent?
- Is the legend necessary, and if so, is it compact?
- Does the figure stay readable after downscaling to likely paper width?
- If multi-panel, are labels, spacing, and styling consistent across panels?
- Does the caption need exact numbers that should instead live in a table?

## Table QA

Check:

- Is a table actually the right artifact, or should a companion figure exist?
- Are row/column labels short but unambiguous?
- Are important values easy to locate?
- Is the caption specific enough to stand alone?
- Is the table too dense for the main paper and better suited to appendix?
- If two-column format matters, was width/span considered explicitly?
- Was a preview rendered before treating the table as final?

## Mixed deliverable QA

If both a figure and table are present:

- Does each have a distinct role?
- Is the figure carrying pattern perception?
- Is the table preserving exact values?
- Is there duplication that should be reduced?

## Revision questions

If the artifact is weak, ask:

- Should the chart family change?
- Should exact values move into a table?
- Should the artifact split into two panels?
- Should labels or legends be simplified?
- Should export width/format change?
- Should the artifact move from figure-first to table-first, or the reverse?
