Standardization is a way of agreeing on technical issues and processes. A document stating the standard practices and uniform technical and engineering criteria and methods is the way standardization is communicated. There are standards for the web, for improving efficiency in the work place and for the exchange of data.
Standards are usually technically oriented, written for the engineers and designers that develop products for specific industries. Standards come in two forms: de fact or de jure. De facto standards arise because of historical use. These standards are informal and are in place because they have a dominance in the marketplace. De jure standards are required or legal standards. These regulations have laws requiring them to be used.
The goals of standardization within an industry have to do with survival and growth of products and manufacturers in that industry. If each manufacturer creates a product that only works with their existing products, then consumers are limited in what they can choose from. In addition, the industry suffers if there is no possibility of overall growth due to monopolizing the market. Standardization is used to ensure safety, quality, compatibility, repeatability and commodification.
Some industries have organizations created specifically to create and monitor standards. Some standards are requested by organizations but are not required to be used. These are referred to as volunteer standards. If there is mutual gain to be garnered by volunteer standards then most companies will be happy to comply. Standards are written by organizations, governments, industries and individuals.
Standards can come in the form of test methods, procedures, agreement about definitions, or standards about the creation and use of statistics. Most countries have a standards organization or a National Standards Board (NSB). The most well-known standards organization is the International Standards Organization (ISO).