Reap the rewards of quality with ISO 9000

ISO 9000 is a series of international standards for quality management systems. It establishes the organizational structure and processes for assuring that the production of goods or services meet a consistent and agreed-upon level of quality for a company's customers. Whether or not a company decides to seek ISO 9000 certification, implementing such discipline can achieve greater quality and efficiency. This article describes the principles of the ISO 9000 series of standards, which are interpreted by ISO 9000-3 to software development and maintenance. It covers the following topics: an overview of ISO 9000 series standards; the registration process; the twenty clauses of ISO 9001; and implementation of ISO 9000 for software development and maintenance.>