Policy, procedure, standard, and guideline 2024-04-17

Terms such as policy, procedure, standard, and guideline belong to the domain of governance. This post provides a brief overview of each term.

Policy

• Formal directives established by an authoritative body.
• Mandatory compliance is required.
• Example: All construction workers are required to wear safety helmets at the construction site.

Procedure

• The steps to follow in order to adhere to a policy.
• Mandatory compliance is required.
• Example: Prior to entering a construction site, follow steps X, Y, and Z. To wear a safety helmet correctly, perform steps A, B, and C.

Standard

• The uniform specification for a policy’s requirement.
• Compliance may be mandatory.
• Example: Safety helmets must have an outer shell composed of ABS material.

Guideline

• Recommendations provided by an authoritative body. While similar to a policy, the key distinction is that compliance is not obligatory.
• Compliance is voluntary.

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