ARCHIVED 5.4.5. How Standards are Developed
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Standard development generally falls into the three production phases described below:
- The first phase begins when the need for a standard is expressed. Once the need has been recognized and formally agreed upon, the technical scope of the future standard is defined. This phase is usually carried out in working groups composed of subject specialists from countries interested in the subject matter.
- In the second phase, participating members negotiate the detailed specifications within the standard. After each stage of development, a document is circulated for ballot and acceptance before moving on to the next stage of the process. Agreement is arrived at by consensus.
- The third and final phase comprises the formal approval of the resulting agreement and the publication of the standard. The acceptance criteria vary slightly between the various standardizing bodies. ISO stipulates "approval by two-thirds of the ISO members that have participated actively in the standards development process, and approval by 75% of all members that vote."
In response to the need to produce standards more quickly, ISO has recently made it possible to publish interim documents at different stages of standardization. See the ISO standard development processes and deliverables.
Although terminology standardization is subject to the same development process as other standards, it is important that terminology standardization committees work in tandem with the development of the standard(s) they support.
Once the scope of a future standard is defined, the terminological standardization group should work with the standard developers on the basic key concepts underlying the standard and then continue to work in close collaboration as the draft standard evolves. Establishing and defining the terminology after the standard has been developed should be avoided. Once opinions have been formed and positions are entrenched, it can be difficult to reach consensus or achieve harmonization.
Throughout the preparatory, committee and approval stages, the convenor/project leader should ensure on a continual basis that the committee work is being completed in compliance with ISO/TC 37 technical standards, the organization’s directives, the project specifications and the work plan.
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