CEN and CENELEC are reshaping standardization with the SMART project! This groundbreaking project is now entering its first phase and promises full functionality by the end of 2025. It has been a long time coming and offers benefits to both standard drafters and users.
The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of SMART is now live. With this, the standard drafting process can progress within SMART all the way to the Enquiry stage. Next, the second phase of the project will follow, to ensure that the entire standard drafting process can be completed in SMART, all the way to the Formal Vote. This can be expected by the end of 2025.
But what is SMART, and how does it work? Continue reading to know more!
The benefits of SMART
SMART provides an innovative tool to draft new standards. It streamlines the drafting process by providing a pre-structured layout. This allows drafters to focus fully on the content rather than formatting. They will be able to tag the most important requirements, which the end users will be able to retrieve easily.
Until now, standards have essentially been written as a simple free text. SMART changes this and helps drafters structure the content of standards. For example, the type of information (requirements, permissions, examples, and so on) will need to be clearly identified and tagged, and provisions will need to be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound).
The types of documents that SMART will be available for are CEN and CENELEC’s homegrown deliverables: European Standards (EN), Technical Specifications (TS), CEN/CENELEC Workshop Agreements (CWA) and Harmonization Documents (HD).
Standard users will also benefit from SMART. After integrating a SMART standard into their system, standard users will be able to automatically extract a list of the elements which were tagged as important. This will improve clarity and simplify implementation for standard users. On top of the traditional PDF standard users receive, they will get a concise list of what requirements need to be met to implement the standard.
All in all, the SMART project marks a pivotal shift in European standardization, offering innovative tools for more efficient drafting and implementation. By integrating advanced functionalities, SMART addresses the evolving needs of both drafters and users, paving the way for a more effective standardization process.
CEN and CENELEC Technical Committees (TCs) interested in using SMART should contact the SMART mailbox (smart@cencenelec.eu). Availability is limited for 2025, maximum 20 TCs will be selected to participate this year. There will be an info session in February to answer questions and provide more information.
