The diverse uses of “standards” define the goal of this work, namely, to develop a general framework of standards and to reflect on the process and outcome of the development of the framework. My intention is to devise a theoretical framework that may be translated into practice at some future point.
The principle outcome is a framework of standards that includes five dimensions: Level, Purpose, Effect, Sponsor, and Stage, each of which contains five categories that together define the dimension. The dimensions show:
The principle outcome is a framework of standards that includes five dimensions: Level, Purpose, Effect, Sponsor, and Stage, each of which contains five categories that together define the dimension. The dimensions show:
- how standards can be produced and used by entities from different Levels
(individual, organizational, associational, national, and multinational); - how they can have one or more Purposes (simplification, communication,
harmonization, protection, and valuation); - how they can cause diverse Effects (constructive, positive, unknown, negative,
and destructive); - how they can be developed by different Sponsors (devoid, nonsponsored,
unisponsored, multisponsored, and mandated); and - how they can be in different Stages (missing, emerging, existing, declining,
and dying).
In presenting the framework, the chapter also touches on the roles of standards in the industrial age, their potential roles in the knowledge age, and the current turmoil in the standards community. It includes reflections on designing and judging the framework.