Standards Commities

Nature of the Standards Process


Standards are made by people who work for companies that have a vested interest in exactly how the standard is written. Companies want standards that give them an advantage, not their competator. As a result, discussions in a standards committee can get a bit heated. My wife drew this picture while observing a joint ISA SP50/IEC61158 Fieldbus standards meeting. All present at the meeting agreeded that picture captures the true nature of the standards process (that was about the only thing that they agreed on).