The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) exists to help develop commercial and industrial standards that are followed around the world. ISO facilitates the international standardization process by creating technical documents containing the standards that must be met in order for a product, service or design to be standardized. The standardization process has six stages, during which standards are developed, revised and published.
Stage 1: Proposal
A proposal is submitted to ISO by industry members who feel that an International Standard is needed for their product or service. ISO forms technical committees (TC) and subcommittees (SC) to discuss the proposal. The committees vote on the proposal, and if the vote is accepted the standard moves to the second stage.
Stage 2: Preparatory
A group of experts is gathered by the TCs and SCs formed in the proposal stage and is put under the charge of a project chairman. The experts pen and revise a working draft of the standard that outlines the technical specifications that must be met by the standard. Once the experts are satisfied with the technical draft of the specification, the document is sent to the parent committee of the group for review.
Stage 3: Committee
The working draft created during the preparatory stage is registered by the Central Secretariat of ISO and circulated among the TC and SC groups formed for the standard. The committees reviewing the draft can vote to send the document to the next stage as a draft International Standard or revise the document until a consensus is reached on the technical aspects of the project.
Stage 4: Enquiry
The draft International Standard (DIS) is circulated among the member bodies of ISO for review, voting and comment. Member bodies have five months to respond to the DIS. If two-thirds of the TC and SC members approve of the DIS, and if three-quarters of the member bodies of ISO approve of the DIS, the draft is revised and moves into the Approval Stage. If the voting requirements are not met, the draft is returned to the Committee Stage for further revision.
Stage 5: Approval
The final version of the DIS is submitted for a second vote among the member bodies of ISO. Member bodies have two months to place their votes. The draft is approved if two-thirds of the TC and SC members and three-quarters of the member bodies of the ISO vote in favor of the DIS. Any technical comments received at this stage are saved for later review.
Stage 6: Publication
Minor editorial changes are made to the final International Standard, which is then published by ISO. Within three years, the new standard is reviewed by the TC/SC and member bodies of the organization and revised if necessary.
