Strategic requirements for ISO/TC 334 Standards and guidance documents
ISO/TC 334 develops ISO standard and guidance documents, 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 Guides.
- identify clearly the intended users.
The intended users must be identified to provide a focus for a Guide. 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 Guide 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 16 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.
ISO Guide 8o has been withdrawn (January 2025) and has now been replaced by a new Technical Report - ISO/TR 33402
Currently in development ISO/TC 334 has one new standard, ISO/DIS 33408 (previously AWI/ISO Guide 87).
Furthermore, one current ISO Guide is in the process of being transformed into an international standard: