The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed the ISO 9000 series to create a global standard for quality management and assurance, with roots tracing back to British military standards from World War II. The ISO 9001 standard, which evolved from these guidelines, was first released in 1987 and has since been updated, emphasizing quality management as a crucial aspect for organizations across numerous industries. Notably used by companies like Wal-Mart and Boeing, ISO 9000/9001 serves as an essential tool for organizations aiming to improve efficiency and meet customer expectations.

1. International Organization for
Standardization
presented by
IQRA RUBAB

2. What are the main goals of this effort?
a. ISO 9000, represents a management methodology adopted by companies to deliver
products and services that meet customer expectations. The International
Organization for Standardization started working on these guidelines in the late
1980s
a. To facilitate international trade by providing a single internationally-accepted set of
standards for everybody's reference

3. What motivated this initiative?
a. ISO based the foundation of ISO 9001 in the content of a British set of standards,
BS5750, an older document for military applications. BS5750 aimed at tightly
controlling the quality of munitions assembly in factories that built bombs in United
Kingdom during World War II. With the encouragement of the British government,
ISO drafted the first version of these standards in 1987
• A significant reason for the rise in registrations in the UK was due to increasing
demands by governmental type organizations and civil project contractors that their
suppliers were ISO9000 registered

4. Who is the organization(s) behind this effort?
a. 163 countries were behind the efforts that led to the creation of ISO. Each of these
countries has elected a representing member in the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO). With its main secretariat located in Switzerland, ISO remains
the most known developer and publisher of international standards.

5. When was this effort initiated?
a. As opposed to ISO 9000 which was introduced in 1987, ISO 9001,ISO 9002, and
ISO 9003 were all combined in year 2000 and called ISO 9001:2000.
a. ISO 9001 was updated in 2008 and is known as ISO 9001:2008. The changes are
considered minor. Companies that seek ISO 9001:2008 certification will be
evaluated by the process of examining a sample of their product(s) , processes and
functions to see if they are compliant.

6. Who uses this approach as a way to improve quality?
a. The ISO 9000 Series is a set of international standards for quality management and
quality assurance. The standards were developed to help companies effectively
document the elements they need to maintain an efficient quality system. They are
not specific to any one industry.
• Here are some companies and organizations that use this standard: Wal-Mart, U.S.
Marine Corps, The Boeing Company, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, United Space
Alliance, Abbott Labs, Anderson Pharmaceutical Packaging, Borough of Poole UK

7. What are the main/unique features of this approach?
The main features of the ISO9000 family of standards are:
a. The ISO9000 family of standards constitute a quality management system and form
an effective management tool.
• It is a top-down management system that defines responsibility and activates the
organization.
• WHAT is a requirement, but HOW is a decision taken by the organization. It
respects the autonomy of the organization and is a tool that allows the organization
to individual expression.

8. What relationship, similarities,or differences does this have
with other approaches?
a. The ISO 9000/9001 is unique in the sense that it focuses mainly on
quality management and is sometimes required by purchasers in order sell their
products focusing on many principles that have financial benefits to a company.
b. The ISO 9000/9001 standard separates itself from other standards such as the ISO
12207 and ISO 15504 such that these standards focus on structures,
modularity/flexibility and independent activities of a software process.

9. What is your opinion of this approach?
a. The ISO 9000/9001 approach is certainly an industry fail-safe
management system for most companies to use. The primary reason for this is
because is becoming almost a necessary to sell software
products.
b. The ISO 9000/9001 has also been a proven quality management tool over the year
and as stated previously, used be many different companies.
c. Comparatively to the other standards, ISO 9000/9001 is one of the most robust
quality management tools. Companies would greatly benefit from financially over
the long term.

10. Sources:
a. http://www.iso.org/
• www.praxiom.com/iso-9001.htm
• www.isoqar.com/iso9001/qualintro.htm