Strategic requirements for ISO/TC 334 Standards
ISO/TC 334 develops ISO Standards to facilitate and promote the production and use of reference materials that:
- Establish good practice through international consensus.
Consensus across ISO member countries promotes global acceptance of ISO/TC 334 Standards.
- Identify clearly the intended users.
The intended users must be identified to provide a focus for a Standard. The main ISO/TC 334 clients fall into three categories, i.e. (1) producers of reference materials, (2) users of reference materials; and (3) accreditation bodies.
- Be “user-friendly” and effective for the user.
A Standard should facilitate implementation of an activity or process, should include explanatory statements when required and should describe the prerequisites and the limitations of the activity or process.
- Be consistent with other international standards, guides and publications
To achieve this goal, ISO/TC 334 is actively engaged in liaisons with 14 international organizations and bodies.
- Be responsive to identified market needs
- Market needs are identified and documented, for example, by one or more surveys of clients, market research studies, or requests from user groups, ISO/TCs, national standards bodies, etc.
- Be issued in a timely fashion
These documents may either be issued as published ISO standards or (if appropriate) Technical Reports.