The guide is a NORMAPME and CEN initiative which was later joined by CENELEC. It was developed in the CEN/CLC BT Working Group 208 "Guidance on SME needs", the secretariat of which was held by NORMAPME. It is the result of the efforts of more than 30 European standardisation experts, eleven national standardisation bodies and seven industry organisations working together during one year.

The document aims at raising awareness on the issues that may be of importance to SMEs in the development of standards and at overcoming possible non-representation of SMEs in standardisation work. It provides recommendations to standard writers on how to take into account SMEs needs by identifying the issues that should be considered during the development process of standards.

The guide provides the elements necessary to assess and enhance the SME-relevance of standards, as well as a checklist of all issues to take into account at all stages of the drafting process in order to make the standard more SME friendly.

NORMAPME warmly welcomes the adoption of the guide which it believes is a great leap towards a more SME-friendly standardisation system. "Given that SMEs represent 99,8% of the companies in the EU, all standard writers should take their needs into consideration", said Loucas Gourtsoyannis, NORMAPME Director and BT WG 208 convenor; "with this guide, CEN and CENELEC are delivering a strong message to SMEs: all standards writers are now aware of your needs".