buildingSMART promotes international consensus among stakeholders on specific standards to accelerate implementation and uptake.  buildingSMART standards cover a wide range of process and information capabilities unique to the built environment industry, including:

• An industry-specific data model schema - Industry Foundation Classes [IFC]
• A methodology for defining and documenting business processes and data requirements - Information Delivery Manual [IDM]
• Data model exchange specifications - Model View Definitions [MVD]
• Model-based, software-independent communication protocols - BIM Collaboration Format [BCF]
• A standard library of general definitions of BIM objects and their attributes - buildingSMART Data Dictionary [bSDD] 

buildingSMART also oversees formal reviews and publication of Technical Reports that result from technical activities in the Rooms that involve research, development or implementation and are of interest and benefit to the buildingSMART Community and the built asset industry.   A buildingSMART SPEC is a document that can be produced by any organisation that wants to standardize best practice on a specific subject but is not yet ready to proceed with producing it as a bSI Standard.

Source from buildingSMART