The ISO/IEC 2382 series was initially based mainly on the usage in the Vocabulary of Information Processing which was established and published by the International Federation for Information Processing and the International Computation Centre, and in the American National Dictionary for Information Processing Systems and its earlier editions published by the American National Standards Institute (formerly known as the American Standards Association). Published and Draft International Standards relating to information technology of other international organizations (such as the International Telecommunication Union and the International Electrotechnical Commission) as well as published and draft national standards have also been considered.

The purpose of the ISO/IEC 2382 series is to provide definitions that are rigorous, uncomplicated and which can be understood by all concerned. The scope of each concept defined has been chosen to provide a definition that is suitable for general application. In those circumstances where a restricted application is concerned, the definition may need to be more specific.