Most standards start as specifications, which are simply definitions of hardware or software components. As a specification becomes more widely used and accepted, it may eventually become sanctioned as a standard by a standards
organization such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Shareable Courseware Object Reference Model (SCORM) is a content interoperability standards project of the Advanced Distributed Learning organization within the United States Department of Defense. The SCORM specification is a direct outgrowth of the Airline Industry CBT Committee specification (AICC) coupled with Instructional Management System Standards (IMS). SCORM combines the content and distribution interoperability of IMS and the deployment, tracking, and launching capabilities of AICC to provide standards for the delivery and management of knowledge components.