A standard begins as a technical contribution which is supported by a number of interested parties to the extent that they indicate their willingness to participate in the document's development.

A Project Initiation Notice (PIN) form is completed and submitted for approval to EIA or ECA. After the project is approved for initiation, the Engineering Committees and their Subcommittees work to further develop the technical parameters of the project.

When the proposed standard or technical document is near completion, the formulating Engineering Committee circulates the draft of the document on a ballot called a "Committee Letter Ballot." The purpose of this ballot is to identify any unresolved issues and to establish consensus within the formulating group. Every effort is made to address and resolve comments received. During this phase of the standards-making process, the draft of the document is not released to the general public.

If the document is intended to be an American National Standard, the committee ballot is also intended to approve submission of the project as an EIA or TIA Standards Proposal. The document is made available for sale by Global Engineering Documents and ANSI, the American National Standards Institute notifies the industry at large that they can comment via its ANSI Standards Action publication.

After all comments have been addressed, the document is forwarded with all its balloting information to the EIA Technology Strategy and Standards Department for procedural review. At ECA, this group is known as the Standards Technology and Policy Council (STPC). If the document is intended to be an American National Standard, the same information is forwarded to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Board of Standards Review (BSR) with a request for approval.

The balloting information is reviewed and supporting documents are checked to see if EIA or ECA due process and other requirements have been met. After this review and upon approval of the BSR, the document is approved for publication as an EIA Standard with recognition as an American National Standard.

A standard which is an American National Standard must be reviewed every five years to ensure it remains current. During this five-year period, a standard may be reaffirmed, modified, or rescinded.