I developed a smart home skill for my company, I did it without using HomeGraph as final user don't care about that they just want a couple of easy traits implemented in devices. Is it required to use Homegraph in order to pass Home suit test and get the certification request accepted?
Thanks!
You can continue to develop your project and test it on your account, but in order to successfully submit for review, you need to abide by several certification policies:
All devices are expected to report state updates to Google through the HomeGraph API’s Report State, with the exception of command-only devices like IR controllers.
Developers shall report device configuration updates in your ecosystem to Google; ... This can be accomplished through the Request Sync API.
To summarize, you will need to integrate the HomeGraph APIs and pass the test suite in order to be ready for certification.