What is a Standard?Definitions of standard on the Web:
• a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated;
• criterion: the ideal in terms of which something can be judged; "they live by the standards of their community"
• established or widely recognized as a model of authority or excellence; "a standard reference work"
• wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
• A set of criteria (some of which may be mandatory), voluntary guidelines, and best practices. Examples include application development, project management, vendor management, production operation, user support, asset management, technology evaluation, architecture governance, configuration management, problem resolution. [Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework]
www.ichnet.org/glossary.htm
• A required approach for conducting an activity or task, utilizing a product, etc. Many times a standard is a best practice that must be followed to have a better chance of overall success.
www.tensteppb.com/90.1Glossary.htm
• A criterion for evaluating performance and results. It may be a quantity or quality of output to be produced, a rule of conduct to be observed, a model of operation to be adhered to, or a degree of progress toward a goal.
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/evaluation ... sary_s.htm
• A set of rules for ensuring quality. Usually standards are defined for products, deliverables or deliverable components and processes.
www.georgetown.edu/uis/ia/dw/GLOSSARY0816.html
• A definition or format that has been approved by a recognized standards organization or is accepted as a de facto standard by the industry. Standards exist for programming languages, operating systems, data formats, communications protocols, and electrical interfaces.
www.angelfire.com/anime3/internet/standard.htm
• (a) A document, established by consensus and approved by an accredited standards development organization, that provides for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines, or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order and consistency in a given context. [IEEE 91] (b) Something set up and established by authority, custom, or general consent as a rule for the measure of quantity, weight, extent, value, or quality as a model or example.
www.sei.cmu.edu/opensystems/glossary.html
• A principle commonly agreed to by experts in the conduct and use of an evaluation for the measure of the value or quality of an evaluation (eg, accuracy, feasibility, propriety, utility).
www.cdc.gov/tobacco/evaluation_manual/glossary.html
• Description: Document approved by a recognized body, that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for [products] or related processes and production methods, with which compliance is not mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively with terminology, symbols, packaging, marketing or labeling requirements as they apply to a [product], process or production method. Source: World Trade Organization Agreement on Technical Barriers on Trade
europa.eu.int/comm/research/biosociety/library/glossarylist_en.cfm
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What is a Standard
There is no single accepted definition for standards, but Charles Sullivan describes them as:
"... a category of documents whose function is to control some aspect of human endeavor."
We think that is a workable definition. But not to leave well enough alone, we will elaborate for our own purposes. Standards, for our discussion, include standards, specifications, regulations, and guidelines. They help clarify, guide and control processes and activities crucial to our everyday functioning and lives. In particular, they specify definitions, performance, and design criteria. They help create a common language with which engineers, researchers, businesses, and even students can communicate, create, and learn.
Standards can be voluntary or mandatory, and as technology and needs change, become superseded. They are created by industrial societies and government bodies, in the United States and in foreign countries. They are also numerous, and growing. Originally discussed by the LaQue report in 1961, the United States standards environment has been short on coordination and long on independent action among the standards issuing bodies. The situation is a little better today, but not much. Currently there are over 550 standards issuing bodies in the United States, as compared to 350 in 1961.
The rest of the world has also taken steps to improve the standards situation. After World War II, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) helped two fledgling international organizations, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), increase their role in the standards arena. Today international standards are an important and growing area as well, with over 7000 ISO standards alone.
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Voluntary Standards
These are standards the use of which is theoretically voluntary, but in practice is widely adopted for the sake of ease of manufacture, interchangeability, and safety. Virtually all industrial standards are voluntary standards. In the past, such standards have been used in an exclusionary way, to favor one group or organization over its rival.
Mandatory Standards
Those standards which are, in effect, laws. Failure to follow such standards would result in legal penalties and liability. They are generally adopted out of concern for safety, and promulgated by the Federal government or one of its agencies or departments. Codes are groups of standards on the same topic, generally created for government agencies, and thus mandatory standards.
Definition Standards
Standards that provide standard measurement, symbology or terminology are definition standards. These create a foundation on which many other standards can be created. The metric system is an example of a definition standard.
Performance Specification Standards
These standards specify the performance levels of a particular item or process, such as a grade of steel or test methods. It doesn't matter how a thing is made or done, but it must meet a certain level performance. That performance can be on a spectrum, with major points designated as a grade or class.
Criteria Standards
Criteria standards discuss how to go about an activity, kind of the "opposite" of a performance standard. Criteria standards set up recommendations considering certain aspects of an activity, such as bridge building, or a laboratory process.
Superseded Standards
Because quality, technology, and human needs change, standards are changed as well. Sometimes the area covered by the rules of a new standard must change to meet the new guidelines. Other times, only new activity must conform. Superseded standards provide information on how things used to be done, and provide valuable information when an older area of activity (like the capabilities of an old elevator or results from a lab using older reporting techniques) is being evaluated. The Art, Architecture & Engineering Library has a large number of superseded standards in our collection.
(From University Of Michigan)
Interesting that a standard is not a book, a reference or even a peer reviewed article. Might reference them but that is it. Sometimes books and articles are quoted like they are standards.What Is a "Standard"?
MANAGING EDITOR NOTE: The "standards" discussed in this column should not be confused with the AIUM's practice guidelines, which have changed names over the years from guidelines to standards and back to the current guidelines.
This is the second discussion in a series of occasional columns concerning IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), ISO (International Standards Organization), and international standards and how they affect the ultrasound community.
The definition of the word "Standard" is, like many English words, highly dependent on context and the intent of the speaker. In the world of the IEC and ISO, the term "Standard" is very narrowly defined in the Directives as
Standard - document, established by consensus and approved by a recognized body, that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines, or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context.
NOTE: Standards should be based on the consolidated results of science, technology, and experience and aimed at the promotion of optimum community benefits.
In practice, this definition can be captured in several common-sense conclusions.
A standard is...
• a requirements document. Very simply, a standard is a documented set of requirements necessary to meet particular defined expectations.
• a guidance or instruction set. It is a guide or source of advice on how to implement particular requirements or how to achieve a common state or understanding.
• state of the technology/commonly accepted practice. As stated in the NOTE above, a standard is based on widely accepted and practiced science, technology, and experience. Controversial concepts, by their very nature, are not consistent with consensus in the parlance of the standards community.
A standard is not...
• state of the art. It is not the latest leading-edge technology. And, it is certainly not based on controversial or unproven theories and technologies.
• a textbook. Standards may contain rationale or references for why a particular requirement is specified, but a standard is not written with the intent to fully educate on the subject at hand.
• a reference book. A standard may contain relevant information necessary to implement its requirements, but a standard is not used for or written as an all-encompassing reference source. Rather standards refer to existing reference materials.
• a peer-reviewed research paper. Standards are not alternative publication outlets for research material not accepted by or submitted to peer-reviewed journals.
• an advertising or sales brochure. Standards cannot contain proprietary information nor should they demand the use of a particular product or service. Products may, however, be used as examples, although every effort must be made to ensure that multiple products and suppliers are identified.
• a law. Standards are voluntary. Regulatory bodies may identify certain standards as sufficient in whole or in part to meet a specific legal requirement but, in and of themselves, standards have no binding legal standing.
Embedded in the definition of a standard is another word commonly misunderstood by participants in the standards community but also specifically defined in the Directives:
Consensus - general agreement, characterized by the absence of sustained opposition to substantial issues by any important part of the concerned interests and by a process that involves seeking to take into account the views of all parties concerned and to reconcile any conflicting arguments.
NOTE: Consensus need not imply unanimity.
In practice, consensus in the IEC and ISO ultimately comes down to whether the document in question is able to pass the somewhat complex voting rules described in the Directives. Without delving into the arcane details, the easiest explanation is that, for a document to pass each development stage, a complicated super majority of the participating countries is required in order to demonstrate "consensus." Very often, the standards development process comes to a halt over whether an issue has obtained "consensus." The process picks up again only when the interested parties are able to overcome their differences and move on.
Coming to a common understanding is what standards are all about. Having a common understanding of just what is a standard is the first step in reading, using, and developing international standards.
Questions may be directed to the author at iec_iso@aium.org.
John Abbott, PhD,
IEC Liaison for the AIUM