Standards – definitions

activity of establishing, with regard to actual or potential problems, provisions for common and repeated use, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context

NOTE 1 In particular, the activity consists of the processes of formulating, issuing and implementing standards.

NOTE 2 Important benefits of standardization are improvement of the suitability of products, processes and
services for their intended purposes, prevention of barriers to trade and facilitation of technological cooperation.

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.

document that provides rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results

NOTE 1 The term “normative document” is a generic term that covers such documentsas standards, technical specifications, codes of practice and regulations.

NOTE 2 A “document” is to be understood as any medium with information recorded on or in it.

NOTE 3 The terms for different kinds of normative documents are defined considering the document and its content as a single entity.

general agreement, characterized by the absence of sustained opposition to substantial issues by anynimportant part of  he 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.

standard that has a wide-ranging coverage or contains general provisions for one particular field.

NOTE: A basic standard may function as a standard for direct application or as a basis for other standards.

standard that is concerned with terms, usually ac companied by their definitions, and sometimes by explanatory notes, illustrations, examples, etc.

standard that specifies requirements to be fulfilled by a product or a group of products, to establish its fitness for purpose

NOTE 1 A product standard may include in addition to the fitness for purpose requirements, directly or by reference, aspects such as terminology, sampling, testing, packaging and labelling and, sometimes, processing requirements.
NOTE 2 A product standard can be either complete or not, according to whether it specifies all or only a part of the necessary requirements. In this respect, one may differentiate between standards such as dimensional, material, and technical delivery standards.

standard that is concerned with test methods, sometimes supplemented with other provisions related to testing, such as sampling, use of statistical methods, sequence of tests.

standard that specifies requirements to be fulfilled by a process, to establish its fitness for purpose

standard that specifies requirements to be fulfilled by a service, to establish its fitness for purpose

NOTE Service standards may be prepared in fields such as laundering, hotel-keeping, transport, car-servicing, telecommunications, insurance, banking, trading.

standard that specifies requirements concerned with the compatibility of products or systems at their
points of interconnection

standard that contains a list of characteristics for which values or other data are to be stated for specifying the product, process or service

NOTE Some standards, typically, provide for data to be stated by suppliers, others by purchasers