ISO/IEC TR 24754-2:2011 provides guidelines in the writing of formatting specifications targeted for document rendering systems supporting functionality described by ISO/IEC 24754-1. There is no scope of conformance constraints against which the use of these guidelines are measured. Possible user requirements for publishing layouts are unbounded. It is the user's obligation to describe their formatting requirements to be fulfilled by a developer or a compositor using a document rendering system. Using incomplete formatting specifications can delay achieving the desired rendered result.

ISO/IEC TR 24754-2:2011 is a specification of questions for the writer of a formatting specification. It is assumed that the writer of a formatting specification is unaware of the needs of the stylesheet writer in meeting the needs of the specification writer. For a writer aware of such needs, ISO/IEC TR 24754-2:2011 is a useful checklist of the issues to be considered.

ISO/IEC TR 24754-2:2011 outlines various considerations users should assess when analysing their rendering expectations. Properties described by ISO/IEC TR 24754-2:2011 should be specified in sufficient detail such that a developer or compositor has the information required to engage the necessary facilities in the document rendering system.

ISO/IEC TR 24754-2:2011 does not presume any particular stylesheet language with which to specify layout and formatting properties. Various stylesheet languages support different degrees of functionality described herein. Not all languages can assume to offer control over the properties described by ISO/IEC TR 24754-2:2011, yet it behoves the user to specify as much detail as possible so as to equip the developer or compositor for their task. By knowing as many nuances of layout as desired, there are more strategies available with which to accomplish a layout as close as possible to the requirements.

Many components of ISO/IEC TR 24754-2:2011 are presented to the reader as questions in the first person, so as to ask the reader to reflect on their requirements when answering the question.