Standardization is the process of developing and implementing technical standards. The process establishes a common agreement for engineering criteria, terms, principles, practices, materials, items, processes, and equipment parts, and components. An organization can benefit from standardization because it: [2,4]
- Enables mass production
- Enables customization
- Improves supplier coordination
- Improves quality
- Enables simplification
- Enables delayed differentiation
- Lowers inventories
Standards provide recommended processes to apply within an organization, describe expected tasks and outcomes, and describe how the processes and tasks integrate to provide required inputs and outputs. Standards are meant to provide an organization with a set of processes that, if done by qualified persons using appropriate tools and methods, will provide a capability to do effective and efficient engineering of systems. [1]
Some recognized systems engineering process standards: [1]
- ISO/IEC 15288, Systems and Software Engineering-System Life Cycle Processes
- ISO/IEC 12207, Systems and Software Engineering -Software Life Cycle Processes
- ISO/IEC 26702, Application and Management of the Systems Engineering Process
- ANSI/EIA 632, Processes for Engineering a System (available for sale)
The DoD Standardization Program (DSP)
The DoD Standardization Program (DSP) is in charge of standardization throughout DOD to reduce costs and improve operational effectiveness. The documents they develop include DoD or federal specifications or standards, military specifications, military standards, military handbooks, commercial item descriptions (CIDs), qualified product lists (QPLs), qualified manufacturers lists (QMLs), guide specifications, Joint Service Specification Guides (JSSG), Data Item Descriptions (DID), and other documents used in the Defense Standardization Program, such as international standardization agreements and DoD notices of adoption of non-Government standards. The following websites are databases for Mil-Standards, Specifications and other standardization documentation. [3]
AcqLinks and References:
- [1] Defense Acquisition Guidebook (DAG)
- [2] Website: Wikipedia – Standardization
- [3] DoD Standardization Program
- [4] Burt, Petcavage, and Pinkerton, “Supply Management” McGraw-Hill 2010
- DoD Instruction 4120.24 “Defense Standardization Program (DSP)” – 13 June 2011
Updated: 8/02/2021