ISO/IEC Guide 17, “Guide for writing standards taking into account the needs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises,” has just been released. For those of you on standards committees and in other standards-related jobs, this represents a real effort on the part of standards developers to reach an important sector of the marketplace. While written specifically for standards development within ISO and IEC, the Guide’s points should be considered by all such organizations.
The ISO/IEC Guide 17 is based on the CEN/CENELEC Guide 17, “Guidance for writing standards taking into account micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) needs.” Released in 2010, the European Guide proposes several strategies to address SME needs in the standards development process. It covers the entire process of drafting and adopting a standard. And it reviews the implications of standardization on SMEs.
The ISO/IEC Guide 17 builds on this foundation with considerations for development of standards that are best adapted to SMEs’ needs. It will help you identify and assess provisions in your standards that might impact SMEs. It includes ways to reduce negative impacts that your standards might have on SMEs. And it has guidelines and a checklist for writing SME-friendly documents. There’s even information on the impact that standards have on micro-enterprises.
The proposals in this Guide are specific, ranging from suggestions on language and length to testing requirements and transition periods. Specific areas addressed are the preparation of the work item as well as the standard itself, development of the content, structure and presentation and lastly the final review. Definitions for the types of businesses that are being highlighted are included.
All ISO/IEC guides are reference documents meant for use by the many committees and their members. However, in the case of Guide 17, we’ll also expect that the publication will get wide attention throughout the standard developing community. To get your copy, be sure to use an authorized distributor like Document Center Inc.
You can search for and order standards at our webstore, www.document-center.com. Here’s a direct link for the ISO/IEC Guide 17 order page. You’ll be able to purchase the document in paper format or for pdf download. Should you prefer enterprise-wide access, contact the Document Center staff for information on our Standards Online service. You can reach them by phone at 650-591-7600 or by email at info@document-center.com. We’ve been working with specs and standards since 1982. Make us your Standards Experts!