Prescription v. General Performance Criteria in Standards Development: A Case Study of Physical Security Regulation

Standards development is critical to the viability of technology. Standards can promote and advance a given technology, slow its progress or foreclose its implementation. This paper will discuss standards, how they are developed, and their application in general terms. It then explores the relationship between prescriptive standards, general performance criteria and value j udgments. An analysis will then be made comparing the processes for standards development in physical security technology at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration.