Key Terms in Standardization

The following is a list of commonly used terms and acronyms in the standards community.  Don't see what you are looking for?  Contact us to suggest a term to be added to this list. 

Accreditation Assessment and approval of the process by which standards bodies develop standards, and by which conformity assessment bodies certify products, services, and systems in accordance with recognized accreditation standards. When used in relation to testing facilities, accreditation refers to the process of evaluating testing facilities for competence to perform specific tests using standards test methods.

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A private, non-profit organization that coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. ANSI's mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization system. ANSI accredits national standards developing organizations, approves American National Standards, and represents U.S. interests in international standards development activities.

Balance Participants from diverse interest categories (stakeholders) are sought to participate in the standards development process with the objective of achieving balance in the process.

Building codes Laws or regulations that specify minimum standards of construction for buildings to protect public safety and health.

Certification A process that ensures that the origin, material, quality, manufacture, accuracy, or other characteristics of a product or service has met certain agreed upon-criteria developed for that product, service or profession.

Code Laws or regulations that specify minimum standards to protect public safety and health such as codes for construction of buildings. Voluntary standards are incorporated into building codes.

Company standards  Internal documents prepared by a company for its own use that define such activities as production processes, material characteristics, and purchasing requirements.

Conformity assessment  A process whereby a product, procedure, service or system is evaluated or measured against a standard. Activities associated with conformity assessment include testing, certification, accreditation, and quality assurance system registration.

Consensus General agreement that involves seeking and taking into account the view of all parties concerned, and to reconcile any conflicting arguments. Consensus is more than a simple majority, but does not imply unanimity.

Design standard Standards that specify the design or technical characteristics of a product in terms of how it is to be constructed, assembled or manufactured.

Documentary standard Standards that specify (1) common and repeated use of rules, conditions, guidelines or characteristics for products or related processes and production methods, and related management system practices; (2) definition of terms; classifications of components; delineation of procedures; specification of dimensions, materials, processes, products, systems, services or practices; test methods and sampling procedures; or descriptions of fit and measurements of size or strength.

Due process Any organization, company, government agency, or individual with a direct and material interest has a right to participate by expressing a position and its basis, having that position considered, and appealing if adversely affected.

Harmonized standards Equivalent standards on the same subject approved by different standardization bodies, which allow for establishment of interchangeability of products, processes and services, and for mutual understanding of test results or information provided according to these standards

IEC The International Electrotechnical Commission, founded in 1906, promotes international cooperation in standardization in the fields of electricity, electronics and related technologies.

Industry Standard A voluntary, industry-developed document that establishes requirements for products, practices, or operations.

Interoperability Ability of a system or a product to work with other systems or products without special effort on the part of the customer. Interoperability is made possible by the implementation of standards.

ISO The International Organization for Standardization (founded in 1947) facilitates the internationalization and unification of standards and related activities over almost the entire range of technology (except that covered by IEC).

Mandatory government standard A standard set by government that prescribes safety, health, or environmental requirements.  More commonly referred to as a technical regulation.

Mandatory standards Standards incorporated into laws or technical regulations for the protection of public health, safety, and the environment; or when incorporated into contractual agreements, between buyers and sellers.

Measurement standard The realization of the definition of a given quantity, with stated quantity value and measurement uncertainty, used as a reference.

National standard A standard developed primarily for domestic use.

NTTAA The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 directs NIST to coordinate the use of voluntary consensus standards in the government and to minimize the use of government-specific standards

Openness Participation in the standard development process shall be open to all persons who are directly and materially affected by the activity in question, and the committee's activities are publicly available.

Performance standards Performance standards specify the level of expected performance for a product, not how it should be designed, and may include test methods that simulate performance under actual conditions.

Process standard Process standards relate a series of actions or operations used in making a product and provide the methodology to perform these processes in a consistent and reproducible way.

Product standard Product standards can either define how the product should perform or how it should be designed.

Regional standard A standard developed by a specific region of the world, such as Latin America, that may be adopted as an international standard.

Regulation A rule adopted by a federal or state regulatory agency to implement, interpret, or make specific the law enforced or administered by it, or to govern its procedure.

Specification A set of conditions and requirements of precise and limited application that provide a detailed description of a procedure, process, material, product, or service for use primarily in procurement and manufacturing. Standards may be referenced or included in specifications.

Standard A standard is a document that defines the characteristics of a product, process or service, such as dimensions, safety aspects, and performance requirements.

Standards bodies National, regional and international standards bodies that develop standards and/or that coordinate the standards activities of a specific country, region or the world. Standards bodies may be supported by the private sector, the government, or some combination thereof. Some standard bodies facilitate the development of standards through support of technical committee activities, and some may be directly involved in standards development.

Standard Developing Organization (SDO) An organization, committee, company, governmental agency or group that develops standards.

Standards development process A formal process for developing voluntary consensus standards. For example, in the U.S. the national process includes beginning with a draft of the proposed standard through the various steps to application to ANSI for approval of the standard. ANSI does not approve the technical content of the standard. ANSI approves the process by which the standard was developed. Not all national standards developed are submitted to ANSI for approval.

Technical barriers to trade Differences in product requirements and approval schemes, occurring in laws, regulations and standards, which can restrict trade between countries.

Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (WTO) Technical regulations and industrial standards are important, but they vary from country to country. Having too many different standards makes life difficult for producers and exporters. If the standards are set arbitrarily, they could be used as an excuse for protectionism. Standards can become obstacles to trade. The WTO's Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade tries to ensure that regulations, standards, testing and certification procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles.

Technical committee Technical committees are groups of technical subject matter experts who volunteer their time to draft and write the content of a standard in standards development sessions.

Technical regulation  Document which lays down product characteristics or their related processes and production methods, including the applicable administrative provisions, with which compliance is mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively with terminology, symbols, packaging, marking, or labeling requirements as they apply to a product, process, or production method

U.S. national body ANSI is the U.S. member body to ISO and the IEC, via the U.S. National Committee to IEC, representing United States interests in international standards development. National standards bodies in other countries are the member bodies to ISO and IEC for their countries.

World Trade Organization The WTO, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland is the international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the majority of the world's trading nations and ratified by their governments. The WTO provides a forum for trade negotiations, handling trade disputes, and monitoring trade policies. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters and importers to conduct their business.