Hi @heiditravels This is a really helpful post, I think you listed most of the main things to pay attention to. And yes, it applies not only to ICOs, but to cryptocurrencies as well.

I would like to add just one point - when assessing the ICO project and its team, don't forget to virtually put this project into a real existing industry (taking into consideration the current competition).
Even if all things your listed get a positive answer, still MAY NOT BE ENOUGH to invest. To get any considerable ROI (especially if you generally plan to hold tokens in long run) there should be:

1. Very strong competitive advantage product-wise (the product should make a functional break through)
2. Very strong marketing capabilities.
3. Luck to overcome unknown obstacles.

Just one example.
Several years ago I did study an online course taught by Hasso Plattner (co-founder of SAP software company, a great man with net worth of $10.8 billion). The course promoted In-Memory Database Management. Technology-wise it was a huge break-though in comparison this a traditional database management approach. And it is hard to believe Hasso Plattner's team did not have enough resources to market this approach. But still, it is far from being widely used. Why? 3) Luck to overcome unknown obstacles.

So why should any new ICO skyrocket their technology or product in real super-competitive market conditions?

And the last question we need to ask ourselves? How many ICO funded projects have become established (with financially proved ROI)?

After asking myself I did choose to better invest in open-source technology-advanced cryptocurrencies, not ICOs.