There are several useful international standards on UX-related topics.
Why are standards important?
Standards are a formal agreement on a specific, detailed topic. They allow us to codify best practices or a set of requirements, and share them across industries, national boundaries and disciplines.
Some standards focus on processes, describing principles and making recommendations for how to achieve a results. Others are detailed specifications, and contain requirements that must be met. Both are useful in establishing a user-centered design process or in evaluating the usability of a product.
Getting copies of standards
Standards are generally sold by the organizations that publish them, or by a national standards organization.
The easiest way to locate a standards document is to look it up by number (for example, ISO 13407).
Some sources of standards:
- ISO – International Standards Organization
- ANSI – American National Standards Institute
- Techstreet – an online bookstore specializing in standards