Standards are commonly used as the basis for government regulation. When issued as final rules, they are the law of the land. Company standards are specifications that are developed in-house and made available widely. IBM's decision to let other computer makers see and copy the PC's architecture helped establish its dominance. The most common type of standard is the voluntary standard , developed by consensus and nationally recognized.
Voluntary standards share certain important principles.
First, they are established by consensus . Note that this does not mean unanimity - standards seldom satisfy all interests equally. But they are developed using a process that ensures that all views are heard and considered, and that conflicts are resolved where possible, so that the final product represents a general agreement among all concerned parties. Standards must be impartial , and not be used to restrict commerce. They are, after all, agreements among competitors, who must be careful not to write specifications that would squeeze another company's product out of the market, or require product approvals available only to certain companies.