[ Lead / Lag ]

Technical Standards like AS2885 for high pressure pipelines, or button battery safety, or pool fences, or others like that, are a unique documentation situation.
While Standards “lead” because they set requirements to be met so that products are safe, efficient and consistent, I actually think Standards are laggards. Quite often, we can’t set a Standard without being able to refer to experience about what’s efficient and safe.

When novelty and innovation are underway, people are also looking for a Standard. But we’re finding that it can’t be written until there’s enough experience to know what the best requirements should be.