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Course #1
What Are Standards?

Standards are part of our daily lives yet they often go unnoticed. This course explains what standards are and uses examples of the various types of standards to illustrate the many ways that we use and rely on standards.

Objectives

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

• explain the general concept of a standard
• recognize the various types of standards
• distinguish between design and performance standards
• differentiate between de facto and de jure standards
• describe the relationship between voluntary and mandatory standards

Target Audience

This course is for anyone new to standards, or those needing a refresher on the subject, such as:

• corporate engineering, manufacturing, and design staff
• quality managers
• government and public administration staff
• university faculty and students (engineering, business, public policy, law)
• NGOs (non-government organizations) concerned with global trade
• standards development organizations staff
• consumers