The license

Look for a license: to help you understand what you can and can’t do with the standard

Check the license is an open license: an open license means anyone can use the standard. There shouldn’t be a fee for using the standard

Confirm who owns the copyright: to determine who ultimately owns the standard

Check for contributor agreements: to clarify who owns the copyright to your contributions and any licenses in place

Your needs

Confirm the target audience: to make sure that you or your organisation are a good fit for the open standard

List the key features: to understand what the priorities are for the open standard. Do you need specific features as a developer, data user or data publisher?

Compare with your needs: to work out how closely the open standard meets your needs and where the gaps are. What features are required or optional?

Check if the standard can be extended or customised: to determine whether you can create or request features to better meet your needs. Check there is clear guidance for managing these changes

Ongoing maintenance

Check the open standard has a website:

Check the website is regularly updated: to confirm the open standard is still active or evolving

Look for a notice of retirement: to check if the open standard has been retired and understand what that means for your use of the standard

Take note of activity in community areas:

Research responses to bugs and feedback: to gauge whether the standard owner is actively supporting the open standard and how they engage with the community. Standards that are no longer managed may still be suitable for your needs.

Research how change is managed: to understand the governance process used to manage new releases and other changes to the open standard while supporting stability and ease of use

Useful guidance

Confirm there is guidance you can use: to check if there is guidance aimed at your needs – do you need policy, implementation, high level, or other guidance?

Check for resources in the languages you need for implementation and support: Consider contributing to translations if the standard meets your needs but doesn’t include the languages you use