Develop Standards

Learn about the Standards Development Lifecycle, how to participate in standards development, search for working groups and standards in development and much more!

The Standards Development Lifecycle

IEEE Standards are developed using a time-tested, effective and trusted process that is easily explained in a six stage lifecycle diagram.

Find Working Groups and Standards in Development

It’s easy to find a working group or standard in development. Simply search by keyword or browse by topic below.

  • Aerospace Electronics
  • Antennas & Propagation
  • Batteries
  • Communications
  • Computer Technology
  • Consumer Electronics
  • Electromagnetic Compatibility
  • Green & Clean Technology
  • Healthcare IT
  • Industry Applications
  • Instrumentation & Measurement
  • Nanotechnology
  • National Electrical Safety Code
  • Nuclear Power
  • Power & Energy
  • Power Electronics
  • Smart Grid
  • Software & Systems Engineering
  • Transportation
  • Wired & Wireless

Overview

Standards are published documents that establish specifications and procedures designed to maximize the reliability of the materials, products, methods, and/or services people use every day. Standards address a range of issues, including but not limited to various protocols to help maximize product functionality and compatibility, facilitate interoperability and support consumer safety and public health.

 

Policies

The governing bodies of IEEE and the IEEE-Standards Association (IEEE-SA) are responsible for maintaining and overseeing a number of governing documents. These documents establish roles, responsibilities, authority and processes for IEEE. While the documents themselves are robust in nature, they collectively fall within a hierarchy of authority that is described as follows:

  • IEEE Constitution, Bylaws and Policies
  • IEEE-SA Operations Manual
  • IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws
  • IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual

Governance

As mentioned in How Are Standards Made?, Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) typically oversee the development of standards. SDOs serve as facilitators for the standards development process, offering the platforms, rules, governance, methodologies and even facilitation services that objectively address the standards development lifecycle. Each SDO is independently run, maintaining their own methods, policies and process to ensure high quality outputs and reinforce the market relevance of industry and technology standards.

A

Process

The process of developing a standard is typically facilitated by a Standards Development Organization (SDO), which adheres to fair and equitable processes that ensure the highest quality outputs and reinforce the market relevance of standards. SDOs, such as IEEE, IEC, ISO, and others, offer time-tested platforms, rules, governance, methodologies and even facilitation services that objectively address the standards development lifecycle, and help facilitate the development, distribution and maintenance of standards.