Policies and Procedures

The governing bodies of IEEE and the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) are responsible for maintaining and overseeing a number of governing documents. These documents establish roles, responsibilities, authority and processes for IEEE. While the documents themselves are robust in nature, they collectively fall within a hierarchy of authority that is described as follows:

To request a copy of an archived version of an IEEE SA policy document, please send us a detailed email.

IEEE SA Policy Changes (PDF)
Approved changes to the Standards Board Bylaws and Operations Manual.

Participant Behavior – Individual Method (PDF)
Outlines participant behavior for the individual standards development method.
If you would like to request a .ppt version for use during IEEE standards development meetings, please send us an email.

Participant Behavior – Entity Method (PDF)
Outlines participant behavior for the entity standards development method.
If you would like to request a .ppt version for use during IEEE standards development meetings, please send us an email.

Filing an Amicus Brief (PDF)
Outlines the procedures for considering filing an amicus brief on issues affecting the IEEE SA.

Guidelines Regarding Political Activity by IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) Volunteers and Staff (PDF)

Primer for IEEE SA Commercial Terms and Conditions Policy (PDF)

Standards and the Law (PDF)
Guidelines standards participants need to follow in order to maintain the Section 501c3 status of IEEE.

Antitrust & Competition Policy (PDF)
Highlights the competition-law risks that are most pertinent to standards development.

IEEE Standards and Indemnification (PDF)
Outlines requirements for indemnification by IEEE and describes other protections for volunteers.

IEEE SA Standards Style Manual (PDF)
Establishes preferred style for the preparation of IEEE standards drafts.

Metric Implementation Plan (PDF)
Calls for measured and calculated values of quantities to be expressed in metric units in IEEE publications.

Baseline Operating Procedures
Individual Baseline Operating Procedures for sponsors, working groups and SCCs.

Open Source Committee (OSCom) Operations Manual (PDF)
Sets forth the policies and procedures for OSCom activities and oversight of IEEE Open Source activities.

Strategic and Emerging Standards Committee (SESCom) Operations Manual (PDF)
SESCom is established to assist the IEEE Standards Association in launching, mentoring, and managing new, strategic, or emerging standards development projects within the IEEE fields of interest for which there is no active Standards Committee.

• IEEE SA Board of Governors
• IEEE SA Standards Board
• IEEE SA Position Statements
• IEEE SA Copyright Policy
• IEEE SA Working Group Chair Quick Reference Guide (PDF)
• Best Practices for IEEE Standards Development (PDF)
• Next Steps Kit – Guide for Publication, Awards and Maintenance (PDF)
• Guidelines for Standards Committee Management of IEEE Software Licenses for IEEE Activities (PDF)
• IEEE Guide to Classification of Documents (PDF)
• IEEE Governing Documents
• Electronic Mtg. Guide (PDF)

• Learn about the Standards Development Lifecycle and how to get involved.
• Overview: What are standards?
• Policies: What are our guidelines?
• Governance: Who oversees the process?
• Process: How are standards made?