Standards

Standards are documented agreed-upon specifications, criteria, or guidelines that establish uniform criteria for products, services, processes, or systems. They enable interoperability, safety, quality, and efficiency by ensuring that different organizations and components can work together.

Standards can be voluntary or mandatory. Voluntary standards are developed by consensus through organizations such as ISO, IEC, and ITU; mandatory standards may be adopted by governments or regulators. Standards can be technical, but also cover terminology, measurement, and testing procedures. They can be de jure (legally binding) or de facto (widely used even without law).

Major international bodies include ISO and IEC, which publish joint ISO/IEC standards, and ITU for telecommunications. Regional and national bodies include CEN and CENELEC (Europe) and ETSI; ANSI coordinates U.S. standardization, with standards development organizations such as ASTM, IEEE, and SAE.

Development processes are typically consensus-driven, involving proposal, drafting, committee work, public review, voting, and publication. Revisions reflect new technology or market needs. Open standards aim for broad participation and often royalty-free or low-royalty use, whereas proprietary standards may require licensing.

Intellectual property considerations and licensing, such as essential patents, may involve RAND or FRAND terms. Conformity assessment and accreditation bodies verify compliance and grant certificates or marks.

Standards influence product design, procurement, regulation, and market access. While some criticize excessive standardization for potentially hindering innovation or creating lock-in, supporters emphasize consumer protection, safety, interoperability, and global trade facilitation.