ISO 9000

A set of international standards for both quality management

and quality assurance that has been adopted by over 90

countries worldwide. The ISO 9000 standards apply to all

types of organisations, large and small, and in many

industries.

The standards require: standard language for documenting

quality processes; system to manage evidence that these

practices are instituted throughout an organisation; and

third-party auditing to review, certify, and maintain

certification of organisations. The ISO 9000 series

classifies products into generic product categories: hardware,

software, processed materials, and services.

Documentation is at the core of ISO 9000 conformance. In fact,

the standards have been paraphrased as:

"Say what you do. Do what you say. Write it down."

In Britain it is associated with BS5750 which may become

obsolete.

["The ISO 9000 Guide," c. 1993 Interleaf, Inc].

(1995-01-30)