Standardization: Art or Discipline?

Carl Cargill, Director of Standardization, Sun Microsystems

1/01/2005
(Original Publish Date: 1998)

Standardization - that is, the making of a product or service common across an industry - is one of those uneasy practices which sits on the cusp between marketing and engineering. What was once an engineering discipline is now heavily - and directly - influenced by non-technology issues. This article examines the current state of the practice of standardization, from the organizations to the practitioners to the environment, and draws the conclusion that standardization is neither technical nor a discipline.