Catholic University of America 

School of Engineering 

Engineering Management Program 

Strategic Standardization Curriculum 

(CMGT 564 - 2010) 

The purpose of Strategic Standardization is to create a level of awareness for graduate engineering 

students on significant issues associated with standards and the process of standardization. Today’s 

world is heavily dominated by engineering, science and technology issues. The course represents a 

crossroads between engineering, science, technology, public policy and law. In short, the course 

offers graduate students a chance to examine engineering, science, and technology issues from a 

public policy perspective. The range of public policy issues covered in the course includes national 

standards strategies, health, safety, the environment, energy, sustainability, international trade, 

engineering ethics and potential legal risks. 

Standards govern the design, operation, manufacture, and use of everything 

mankind produces. There are standards to protect the environment, human health, 

safety, and to mediate commercial transactions. Other standards ensure that 

different products are compatible when hooked together. There are even standards 

of acceptable behavior within a society. Standards generally go unnoticed. They 

are mostly quiet, unseen forces, such as specifications, regulations, and protocols 

that ensure that things work properly, interactively, and responsibly. How 

standards come about is a mystery to most people should they even ponder the 

question. With the evolution of global markets, standards are even more important 

to facilitate international trade. Unfortunately, they may also be used as trade 

barriers or to gain advantage over foreign competitors. The United States has been 

fortunate to have a pluralistic, industry-led standards setting process that has 

served us well in the past. Whether it will continue to do so in the future in the 

face of bruising international economic competition is uncertain (Global Standards: 

Building Blocks for the Future, Forward, U.S. Office of Technology Assessment Report 

to Congress (1992)).1

 

Globalization is rampant and will remain so for the foreseeable future. (The World is Flat, Thomas 

Friedman (2005)).2

 Standards influence everything we do (UK National Standards Strategy (2003)).

3

 

Standards control markets (German National Standards Strategy (2005)).4 Standardization is one of 

the best sources of competitive intelligence available (Canada National Standards Strategy (2005).5

 

Standardization programs offer one of the best, most important means to evaluate current 

 

1 http://www.princeton.edu/~ota/ns20/pubs_f.html 2

 http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/worldisflat.htm 3

 http://www.nssf.info/resources/documents/Guide_to_NSSF.pdf 4

 http://www.din.de/sixcms_upload/media/2896/DNS_english%5B1%5D.pdf 5

 http://www.scc.ca/en/nss/css-scn/index.shtml

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technology, and provide a glimpse of where future technology innovations may occur. 

Standardization programs are indispensable for the strategic evaluation of technology and the 

analysis of competitive issues. In strategic terms, “If you control an industry’s standards, you 

control that industry lock, stock, and ledger” (Out of the Crisis, by W. Edwards Deming, Center for 

Advanced Engineering Study, MIT at 302 (1986)). 

For over 100 years, the National Standards Policy of the United States has been the private sector 

will lead in the development of consensus standards and the government will play a supporting role 

(National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (1995)). The United States standardization 

system is the most diverse standardization system in the world. According to the U.S. Department 

of Commerce, there are at least 600 individual standardization groups in the United States 

representing virtually industry in commerce. The entire rest of the world is estimated to have no 

more than 250 standardization groups. 

The United States System is a “bottom up” system in which the private sector has the leading role. 

All other national standardization systems are essentially “top down” systems in which the 

government has the leading role. At the global level, IEEE estimates that 500,000 technology 

standards are the technology foundation for the global economy, and it costs at least $1.5 billion 

each year to maintain the global standardization system. 

Standards are created by various procedures and methods such as de facto systems (private sector), 

de jure systems (private sector and government), and consortia. There are a number of legal issues 

in standardization systems. In fact, the general environment in which standards are created 

resembles a complex legal maze. Legal issues include, for example, openness, fairness, public 

review, safety, health, the environment, competition, antitrust, intellectual property, trade and 

export controls, the internet, and ethics. The failure of practicing engineers to understand standards, 

the process of standardization, and potential legal issues related to these issues may lead to 

significant liability for engineers and organizations that employ them. 

 

The future of the United States economy depends, in significant part, on effective management of 

its standardization system and effective participation in development of international standards. It 

is estimated that at least 50% of current U.S. standards practitioners will retire in the foreseeable 

future (3-5 years). Standards education and training of the next generation of practitioners is 

therefore a critical issue. 

There is a clear need in the United States for greater attention to standards. In an 

information-based global economy, where standards are not only employed strategically as 

marketing tools but also serve to interconnect economic activities, inadequate support for the 

standards setting process will have serious detrimental effects. (U.S. Office of Technology 

Assessment, Global Standards: Building Blocks for the Future, at page 9) 

In short, “[w]e have a republic if we can keep it...” (Benjamin Franklin). 

Creative Commons License: The curriculum for Strategic Standardization (2010) is offered to the 

interested public under the terms of a creative commons license. This document may be copied and 

used by any interested member of the public for the purpose of education provided there is 

attribution to “Strategic Standardization Curriculum, prepared by Donald E. Purcell, Chairman, The 

Center for Global Standards Analysis.” 

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Faculty 

Donald E. Purcell, Chairman, The Center for Global Standards Analysis, Washington, DC. Adjunct 

Faculty: Catholic University School of Engineering for Strategic Standardization; Catholic 

University School of Law for Cyber Law. Telephone: 202/531-0551; 

email: donpurcell@strategicstandards.com or purcelld@cua.edu; web 

site: www.strategicstandards.com. 

Curriculum 

ks 

eport, 1992), Grading (Research paper, 

presentation, attendance, participation & preparation). 

n 

ds 

evelopment organizations, consortia, development process, organization and structure. 

ional 

ent Act, OMB Circular A-119, relationship between 

rivate sector and public sector standards. 

tandards System; overview of U.S. Department of Energy Standards System. 

ds 

 organizations, organization and structure; The Strategic Value of International 

andards. 

 (June 23): Perspectives of ASTM International and the U.S. International 

rade Administration, 

. Strategic Standards Management – Corporate Views (June 30) 

. Testing, Certification and Conformity Assessment (July 7) 

ocess, openness, transparency, right of appeal, global 

arketplace, World Trade Organization. 

0. Legal issues (July 21): Health, safety, environment, antitrust, trade and patents. 

1. Class Presentations (July 28) 

2. Class Presentations & Discussion (August 4) 

1. A Bridge To The Future (May 19): Course Overview; “Global Standards – Building Bloc

for the Future” (Congressional Office of Technology R

2. United States Standardization System – private sector (May 26): Overview – America

National Standards Institute; National Standards Strategy, private sector accredited standar

d

3. United States Standardization System – public sector (June 2): Overview – U.S. Nat

Institute of Standards and Technology in the United States Standards System; Constitution, 

National Technology Transfer and Advancem

p

4. United States Standardization System (June 9): Overview of U.S. Department of Defense 

S

5. Standards & Trade (June 16): Definition of international standard, International standar

development

St

 

6. Standards & Trade

T

7

8

9. Public Policy Issues (July 14): Due pr

m

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4

Grade 

Research Paper (90%): A student may select any research topic related to standards or 

standardization approved by faculty. The research topic must be approved by June 30. The paper 

must be 15-20 pages in length and double spaced (not including title page, table of contents or 

attachments). Footnotes and citations must be appropriate for graduate research. The paper is due 

on August 4. Research paper examples are available at www.strategicstandards.com . 

Class Presentation (10%): The class presentation must be a power point presentation lasting 10-

15 minutes and based upon the research paper. Presentation examples are available 

at www.strategicstandards.com .