2. Why are standards important?
Standards represent sets of agreed-upon rules that tell us how to do something. A standard defines requirements, specifications, guidelines or characteristics for a determined material, product, process or service. Standards are contained within technical documents ‘designed to be used as a rule, guideline or definition, and are a consensus-built, repeatable way of doing something’ (CEN).
Standards are essential for quality and risk management, drive innovation, and contribute to the growth of markets through the production of products with consistent quality and performance. Standards are important for the protection of health and safety of workers, as well as the general public.
The IEC international standards provide instructions, guidelines, rules or definitions that are used to design, manufacture, install, test and certify, maintain and repair electrical and electronic devices and systems, and are arrived at through global consensus. According to the International Telecommunications Union, standards are important to ensure the security, stability, reliability, interoperability, safety for human health, and energy efficiency of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT).
Resource: How standards underpin everyday digital life
All the devices, mobile, laptops, and computers, use keyboards that follow the same pattern, called ‘QWERTY’. The standard ‘QWERTY’ keyboard provides for interoperability and efficiency, allowing for ease of use.
Reflection: Standards used in a smartphone
Identify additional standards used in a smartphone other than those shown in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: We live in a ‘standardised’ world Source: ETSI