Properly used document standards can improve quality and increase productivity. Most important, the proper use of standards will let you keep and reuse your investment in the document's content.
Standards are also an enabling technology.
Both document interchange and electronic distribution depend on standards. In this chapter, we examine the use of document and electronic distribution standards. Before we examine several of the ways in which standards can be used, let's step back from the trees and look at the forest again. A single standard cannot possibly satisfy all requirements all the time. To believe that any one standard is a magic bullet is foolish, although technological developments often breed technology bigots.