Understanding ICT Standardization: Principles and Practice

Standards support our everyday life much more than we may think. Actually, we owe much of the progress in our modern life to standardization. Without standards, our life would not be as organized as it is today. We would have difficulties in doing basic things that we now take for granted. Imagine if the times or the track width of trains were not standardized, or imagine if we were not able to use our mobile devices once we are out of the reach of our operators’ networks, for instance abroad. Thousands of years ago, society recognized the importance of standardized measurements. Weight and distance, or length, cannot be measured without a common reference system agreed upon by people and institutions, in other words a system that is standardized. With technological progress, the need for standardization grows. The rapid progress in the area of information and communication technology (ICT) could not be achieved without the advances in standardization. Standardization and standards boost progress and create a basis, upon which technology can evolve. Though important, ICT standardization and its methods remain a topic that is not easily accessible. It seems that this field is becoming increasingly limited to the expert and remains mysterious to the non- expert. So far, there is research published in the area, but there is no textbook that makes the topic easy to digest by the interested student. We believe that standardization, in particular in the area of ICT, deserves more attention. The principles of ICT standardization should be taught in class in order to convey essential knowledge to students about such an important field. This textbook is an attempt to make ICT standardization accessible and understandable to students. It covers the essentials that are required to get a good overview of the field. The book is organized in chapters that are self-contained, although it would be advantageous to read the book from cover to cover. The second chapter provides a high-level overview of the scope and process of standardization, while introducing the main subjects that are covered in detail in subsequent chapters. It is a synthesis of the basic concepts mainly expressed in a simple and example-based way. In Chapter 3, readers are introduced to the key concepts that will guide them through the tricky landscape of standardization. In particular, they will learn about Standards Development Organizations (SDOs), and the mechanisms that support their cooperation and coordination. Chapter 4 addresses several topics related to the development of high-quality formal standards. The process of producing standards is described in detail and illustrated with several examples. As standards are written by standardization experts, the chapter describes their roles in the standardization process as well as the technical and personal skills that enable them to carry out their daily tasks. Chapter 4 also describes the main activities and responsibilities of the standardization experts and how they interact with their peers, inside the standardization group and within their own organizations.