Family Creation, Performance and Standards post - with tips (BIMAdvent)

There is huge post on content (family) creation over at this link.  I have provided a few useful excerpts below:

A handy list of relevant Agencies / Organizations:

• AIA – American Institute of Architects (E202) http://www.aia.org/aiaucmp/groups/aia/documents/pdf/aiab083007.pdf
• NIBS – National Institute of Building Sciences - http://www.wbdg.org/bim/nibs_bim.php
• BICSI – Building Industries Consulting Services International - https://www.bicsi.org/double.aspx?l=5140
• BSA – Building Smart Alliance (Council of NBIMS; National Building Information Model Standard Project Committee - http://www.buildingsmartalliance.org/index.php/nbims
• Food Service Industry Taskforce - http://rvttskfrce.ning.com/
• InfoCOMM - http://www.infocomm.org/cps/rde/xchg/infocomm/hs.xsl/11729.htm

Nice tip on formulaic materials:
How do you parametrically change a material parameter in a family if the material itself depends on factors outside of each type designation? After all, it's impossible to control materials through formulas. Our approach (when the number of 'stacked' geometry instances is few) is to model separate pieces of geometry, apply their unique material and then control their on/off visibility through parameters.

How to provide error messages to the family user:
One solution to this perplexing problem is to include 3D text displaying a message to the user when a non-existent configuration is selected.

via
WARNING! This may void your manufacturer’s warranty: The Pros Dissect Autodesk Revit Content - BIMAdvent