img
Question:
Published on: 25 April, 2024

What is ISO 9000 Certification? How to Get ISO 9000 Certification?

Answer:

ISO 9000 certification serves as a reference for contract between independent parties. In particular, a company awarding a development contract can form his opinion about the possible vendor performance based on whether the vendor has obtained ISO 9000 certification or not. In this context, the ISO 9000 standard specifies the guidelines for maintaining a quality system.

#ISO 9000 for Software Industry

ISO 9000 is a generic standard that is applicable to a large gamut of industries, starting from a steel manufacturing industry to a service rendering company. Therefore, many of the clauses of the ISO 9000 documents are written using generic terminologies and it is very difficult to interpret them in the context of software development organisations. Two major differences between software development and development of other kinds of products are as follows:

*Software is intangible and therefore difficult to control. It means that software would not be visible to the user until the development is complete and the software is up and running. It is difficult to control and manage anything that you cannot see and feel. In contrast, in any other type of product manufacturing such as car manufacturing, you can see a product being developed through various stages such as fitting engine, fitting doors, etc. Therefore, it becomes easy to accurately determine how much work has been completed and to estimate how much more time will it take.

*During software development, the only raw material consumed is data. In contrast, large quantities of raw materials are consumed during the development of any other product. As an example, consider a steel making company. The company would consume large amounts of raw material such as iron-ore, coal, lime, manganese, etc. Not surprisingly then, many clauses of ISO 9000 standards are concerned with raw material control. These clauses are obviously not relevant for software development organisations.

 

An organisation intending to obtain ISO 9000 certification applies to a ISO 9000 registrar for registration. The ISO 9000 registration process consists of the following stages:

Application stage: Once an organisation decides to go for ISO 9000 certification, it applies to a registrar for registration.

Pre-assessment: During this stage the registrar makes a rough assessment of the organisation.

Document review and adequacy audit: During this stage, the registrar reviews the documents submitted by the organisation and makes suggestions for possible improvements. Compliance audit: During this stage, the registrar checks whether the suggestions made by it during review have been complied to by the organisation or not.

Registration: The registrar awards the ISO 9000 certificate after successful completion of all previous phases.

Continued surveillance: The registrar continues monitoring the organisation periodically.

Random questions