Technical Management Board

The technical work is carried out under the overall management of the Technical Management Board (TMB). The Technical Management Board reports to the ISO Council and its role is defined in the statutes of the organization.

Specifically, it is responsible for tasks such as setting up the various technical committees (TC), appointing TC chairs and monitoring the progress of the technical work. It is also responsible for the Directives, which are essentially the rules for the development of International Standards, and it deals with all matters of strategic planning, coordination, performance and monitoring of technical committee activities.

Access the complete Terms of Reference for the TMB.

TMB Communiqué

Information on the latest developments in technical policy and procedures can been found in the TMB Communiqué, issued after each Technical Management Board (TMB) meeting. The complete collection of TMB Communiqué is available online.


Key policies and guidance

ISO's global relevance policy

An international standard must be able to be implemented as broadly as possible by affected industries all around the world. The ISO Global relevance policy brochure provides practical guidance to ISO committee leaders, ISO national body delegates and experts to assist them in their implementation of the concept of global relevance when developing ISO International Standards.

ISO/IEC Standards and patents

Read more about the common patent policy between ISO, IEC and ITU approved by Council in March 2006.

Standards and public policy

ISO and IEC standards can be used to support public policy, including regulations. For more information, see www.iso.org/policy

Javier Garcia TMB
Javier Garcia
Chair of the TMB
ISO Vice-President (Technical Management)

For enquires about the TMB please contact the Secretary at tmb@iso.org.


ISO Code of Ethics and Conduct

Participants in ISO technical work are expected to abide by the principles set out in the ISO Code of Ethics and Conduct.

Selection criteria for people leading the technical work

Under the Living Lab discussions the key role played by those leading the technical work played in the success of the technical work. Subsequently a Selection Criteria for People Leading the Technical Work have been developed. This covers the role of Chair, Convenor and Manager.

The selection criteria for people leading the technical work can be found in the Annex L of the Consolidated ISO Supplement – Procedures specific to ISO.