A number of distributed simulation architectures are commonly used today. Each architecture was developed by a specific user community, and each owes much of its success to well-defined standards. Unfortunately, live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) federates that choose different architectures can't natively interoperate. The LVC Architecture Roadmap (LVCAR) study proposed a "way ahead" for improved interoperability across the major distributed simulation architectures and protocols. One component of the study dealt with standards development, including the associated standards organizations and standards development processes that will best meet the needs of the broader LVC distributed simulation community.

The methodology applied in the LVCAR standards study took the existing LVC distributed simulation architecture standards, characterized their current state, and defined an "idealized" model against which they could be compared. The study then characterized the vision state of future LVC standards evolution and management. This resulted in a set of desirable attributes for future LVC standards.

Based on the vision state characterization and an analysis to identify gaps in existing organizations and processes, a set of courses of action (COA) were developed to characterize a potential solution space for LVC standards evolution and management. The pros and cons of each COA will be presented, followed by recommendations about future LVC standards development organizations, standards processes, and compliance certification.