A technical report is an informative document from an electrotechnical standards body. It explains a subject, records data, or surveys a method. It does not contain requirements, and a product cannot claim conformance to it. Readers use it to understand. They do not certify against it.
One body that publishes these reports is The European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC). A report from that body informs. A standard from the same body is what a product conforms to.
What a Report Is Used For
- Explanation. A method or a dataset, written so committees can share it.
- No requirements. Nothing in it is a “shall.”
- No certificate. A product is not certified against a report.
Informative Report and a Standard
| Compared | A Technical Report | A Standard |
| Requirements | None | Yes |
| Conformance claim | Not available | Available |
| Purpose | Inform the reader | State what must be done |