Seven principles of Quality management

Introduction:
In my first post I had written about the Eight principles of quality management on which
the standard of ISO 9001:2008 was based. As we are all aware that fifth edition of ISO
9001( ISO 9001:2015) was published in month of september 2015. This fifth edition (ISO
9001:2015) cancels and replaces the fourth edition( ISO 9001:2008). This document was
being prepared by Technical committee of ISO ISO/TC 176/SC 2-Quality Management
and Quality Assurance/ Quality Systems also know as ISO/TC 176 in short. The
process of preparing the ISO 9001:2015 went through a six stage process. Organisations
have been granted a three-year transition period after the revision has been published to
migrate their quality management system to the new edition of the standard.
The key changes in the standards are
1.

There is no quality manual.

2. It emphasis on organization context and risk based thinking,

3. There is no requirement of management representative
4.

The standard does not include a specific clause for Preventive Actions.

5. The terms document and records have been replaced with the term
documented information. Documented procedure in iso 9001:2008 have been
replaced by maintained documented information and Documented record in iso
9001:2008 have been replaced by retained documented information.
6. In 2008 version of the standard the term product was used. This term also
included services. This term has been changed to Product and Services
7. In addition to the term continual improvement another term improvement
have been introduced
8. Outsourcing is now an external provision.The term purchased product has been
replaced with externally provided products and services.The term supplier
has been replaced with External provider.Control of external provision of goods
and services address all forms of external provisions.
9. The new standard does not make any reference to the exclusions which was for
only for clause 7 in ISO 9001:2008, but in ISO 9001:2015 after proper
justification any of the requirement of this international standards may not be
included in the scope, provided it does not affect the organizations ability or

responsibility to ensure the conformity of its product and services and the
enhancement of customer satisfaction
10. The term work environment used in ISO 9001:2008 has been replaced with
Environment for the operation of processes.
The ISO 9000:2015 and ISO 9001:2015 standard is based on the following Seven
principles
of
Quality
management.

1 Customer Focus
The primary focus of quality management is to meet customer requirements and to
strive to exceed customer expectations.
Rationale

Sustained success is achieved when an organization attracts and retains the confidence
of customers and other interested parties on whom it depends. Every aspect of customer
interaction provides an opportunity to create more value for the customer. Understanding
current and future needs of customers and other interested parties contributes to
sustained success of an organization
Key Benefits (As per ISO 9000:2015)

There is an increase in customer value;

There is an increase in customer satisfaction;

There is an improvement in customer loyalty;

It enhances in repeat business;

It enhances in reputation of the organization;

There is an expansion of customer base;

There is increase in revenue and market share.

Possible actions (As per ISO 9000:2015)

Some of the possible actions that an organization can take to increase Customer Focus
can include:
1. To identify and recognize the direct and indirect customer of the organization who
receive value from the organization.
2. To understand customers current and future needs and expectations;
3. The organization must link its objectives to customer needs and expectations;
4. It must communicate customer needs and expectations throughout the
organization;
5. It must plan, design, develop, produce, deliver and support products and services
to meet customer needs and expectations;
6. It must measure and monitor customer satisfaction and take appropriate actions;
7. It must determine and take action on relevant interested parties needs and
appropriate expectations that can affect customer satisfaction;
8. It must actively manage relationships with customers to achieve sustained
success.
Explanation:

This is the first of the Seven principles of Quality management and there is no change in
the heading of this principle. The Eight principle definition stated Organizations
depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer
needs, should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations.
The Seven principle definition states The primary focus of quality management is to
meet customer requirements and to strive to exceed customer expectations.. First and
foremost the organization must have a clear understanding of who are its direct customer
and who are its indirect customers. Customer focused means putting your energy into
satisfying customers and understanding that profitability comes from satisfying
customers.There should be researching ,establishing and understanding current and

future customer needs and expectations. The organization should ensure that the
objectives of the organization are linked to customer needs and expectations. The top
Management should communicate customer needs and expectations throughout the
organization. There should be measuring customer satisfaction and acting on the results.
the organization should ensure a balanced approach between satisfying customers and
other interested parties.
2 Leadership
Leaders at all levels establish unity of purpose and direction and create conditions in
which people are engaged in achieving the quality objectives of the organization.
Rationale

Creation of unity of purpose, direction and engagement enable an organization to align

its strategies, policies, processes and resources to achieve its objectives.
Key Benefits (As per ISO 9000:2015)

It increases the effectiveness and efficiency in meeting the organizations quality

objectives;

There is a better coordination of the organizations processes;

There is improvement in communication between levels and functions of the

organization;

It develops and improves the capability of the organization and its people to
deliver desired results.

Possible actions (As per ISO 9000:2015)

Some of the possible actions that an organization can take includes:

It can communicate the organizations mission, vision, strategy, policies and

processes throughout the organization;

It can create and sustain shared values, fairness and ethical models for behaviour
at all levels of the organization;

It can establish a culture of trust and integrity;

It can encourage an organization-wide commitment to quality;

It can ensure that leaders at all levels are positive examples to people in the
organization;

It can provide people with the required resources, training and authority to act
with accountability;

It can inspire, encourage and recognize the contribution of people.

Explanation:

This is the second of the Seven principles of Quality management and there is no change
in the heading of this principle. The Eight principle definition stated Leaders establish
unity of purpose and direction of the organization. They should create and maintain
the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the
organizations objectives. The Seven principle definition states Leaders at all levels
establish unity of purpose and direction and create conditions in which people are
engaged in achieving the quality objectives of the organization.Leadership is providing
role model behaviors consistent with the values of the organization. Behavior that will
deliver the organizations objectives. Internal environment includes the culture and
climate, management style, shared, trust, motivation and support. The leadership should
Consider the needs of all interested parties including customers, owners, employees,
suppliers, financier, local communities and society as whole. The leadership should
establish a clear vision of the organizations future. The leadership should set a
challenging goals and targets. The leadership should create and sustain a shared values,
fairness and ethical role models at all levels of the organization. The leadership should
Establish trust and eliminate fear. The leadership should provide people with the required
resources training and freedom to act with responsibility and accountability. The
leadership should Inspire, encourage and recognize people contributions.
3 Engagement of People
It is essential for the organization that all people are competent, empowered and
engaged in delivering value. Competent, empowered and engaged people throughout
the organization enhance its capability to create value.
Rationale

To manage an organization effectively and efficiently, it is important to involve all people

at all levels and to respect them as individuals. Recognition, empowerment and
enhancement of skills and knowledge facilitate the engagement of people in achieving the
objectives of the organization.
Key Benefits (As per ISO 9000:2015)

It improves understanding of the organizations quality objectives by people in the

organization and increased motivation to achieve them;

It enhances involvement of people in improvement activities;

It enhances personal development, initiatives and creativity;

It enhances people satisfaction;

It enhances trust and collaboration throughout the organization;

It increases attention to shared values and culture throughout the organization.

Possible actions (As per ISO 9000:2015)

Some of the possible actions that an organization can take includes:

It can communicate with people to promote understanding of the importance of

their individual contribution;

It can promote collaboration throughout the organization;

It can facilitate open discussion and sharing of knowledge and experience;

It can empower people to determine constraints to performance and to take

initiatives without fear;

It can recognize and acknowledge peoples contribution, learning and

improvement;

It can enable self-evaluation of performance against personal objectives;

It can conduct surveys to assess peoples satisfaction, communicate the results

and take appropriate actions.

Explanation:

This is the third of the Seven principles of Quality management and the term
Involvement of People has been change to Engagement of People. The Eight
principle definition stated People at all levels are the essence of an organization and
their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organizations benefit.
The Seven principle definition states It is essential for the organization that all people
are competent, empowered and engaged in delivering value. Competent, empowered and
engaged people throughout the organization enhance its capability to create value.
Engaging people means employees are committed to their organisations goals and
values, motivated to contribute to organisational success, and are able at the same time to
enhance their own sense of well-being.An engaged employee experiences a blend of job
satisfaction, organisational commitment, job involvement and feelings of empowerment.
When we talk of engagement of people it means that all the employees are competent,
empowered and they are delivering value. An engaged employee will have a better

perception of job importance. An engaged employee will have better clarity of job
expectation. There will be more improvement opportunities. There will be regular
feedback and dialog with supervisors. The Quality of working relationships of an
engaged employee with peers, superiors, and subordinates is much improved. There is
effective employee communication.
4

Process
Approach
Consistent and predictable results are achieved more effectively and efficiently when
activities are understood and managed as interrelated processes that function as a
coherent system.
Rationale

The quality management system is composed of interrelated processes. Understanding

how results are produced by this system, including all its processes, resources, controls
and interactions, allows the organization to optimize its performance.
Key Benefits (As per ISO 9000:2015)

It enhances ability to focus effort on key processes and opportunities for

improvement;

There is a consistent and predictable outcomes through a system of aligned

processes;

It can optimize performance through effective process management, efficient use

of resources and reduced cross-functional barriers;

It enables the organization to provide confidence to interested parties related to

its consistency, effectiveness and efficiency.

Possible actions (As per ISO 9000:2015)

Some of the possible actions that an organization can take includes:

It can define objectives of the system and processes necessary to achieve them;

It can establish authority, responsibility and accountability for managing

processes;

It can understand the organizations capabilities and determine resource

constraints prior to action;

It can determine process interdependencies and analyse the effect of

modifications to individual processes on the system as a whole;

It should manage processes and their interrelations as a system to achieve the

organizations quality objectives effectively and efficiently;

It can ensure the necessary information is available to operate and improve the
processes and to monitor, analyse and evaluate the performance of the overall
system;

It should manage risks which can affect outputs of the processes and overall
outcomes of the QMS.

Explanation:

This is the fourth of the Seven principles of Quality management and there is no change
in the heading of this principle. The Eight principle definition stated A desired result is
achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are managed as a
process. The Seven principle definition states Consistent and predictable results are
achieved more effectively and efficiently when activities are understood and managed as
interrelated processes that function as a coherent system. Processes are dynamic-they
cause things to happen.processes within an organization should be structured in order to
achieve a certain objective in the most efficient and effective manner.It helps us in
systematically defining the activities necessary to achieve/obtain desired results.It helps
us in establishing clear responsibility and accountability for managing key activities.It
helps us in analyzing and measuring of the capabilities of key activities. It helps us in
identifying the interfaces of key activities within and between the functions of the
organization.It helps us in evaluating risks,consequences and impacts of activities on
customers,suppliers and other interested parties. Quality Management System are
constructed by connecting interrelated processes together to deliver the system objectives
which is the satisfaction of the interested parties. This helps us in structuring a system to
achieve the organizations objectives in the most effective and efficient way and
understanding the interdependencies between the processes of the system. It also helps us
in providing a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities necessary for
achieving common objectives and thereby reducing cross functional barriers and
targeting and defining how specific activities within a system should operate.
5 Improvement
Successful organizations have an ongoing focus on improvement.
Rationale

Improvement is essential for an organization to maintain current levels of performance,

to react to changes in its internal and external conditions and to create new
opportunities.
Key Benefits (As per ISO 9000:2015)

There is improved process performance, organizational capability and customer

satisfaction;

There is enhanced focus on root cause investigation and determination, followed

by prevention and corrective actions;

There is enhanced ability to anticipate and react to internal and external risks
and opportunities;

There is enhanced consideration of both incremental and breakthrough

improvement;

There is improved use of learning for improvement; There is enhanced drive for
innovation.

Possible actions (As per ISO 9000:2015)

Some of the possible actions that an organization can take includes:

It can promote establishment of improvement objectives at all levels of the

organization;

It can educate and train people at all levels on how to apply basic tools and
methodologies to achieve improvement objectives;

It can ensure people are competent to successfully promote and complete

improvement projects;

It can develop and deploy processes to implement improvement projects

throughout the organization;

It can track, review and audit the planning, implementation, completion and
results of improvement projects;

It can integrate improvement consideration into development of new or modified

products and services and processes;

It can recognize and acknowledge improvement.

Explanation:

This is the fifth of the Seven principles of Quality management and can be mapped to the
sixth of the Eight Quality principle which is Continual Improvement. The term
Continual Improvement has been change to Improvement. The fifth principle of the
Eight Quality principle System approach to management no longer exist in the

Seven principle of quality management.The Eight principle definition stated Continual

improvement of the organizations overall performance should be a permanent
objective of the organization. The Seven principle definition states Successful
organizations have an ongoing focus on improvement. Improvement is the
improvement in organizational efficiency and effectiveness. The organization should
Employ a consistent organization-wide approach to improvement of the organizations
tools of improvement. The organization should Provide people with the training in the
methods and tools of improvement. The organization should Make improvement of
products, processes,and the system an objective for every individual in the organization.
The organization should Establish the goals to guide and lead.
6 Evidence-based Decision Making.
Decisions based on the analysis and evaluation of data and information are more
likely to produce desired results.
Rationale

Decision-making can be a complex process, and it always involves some uncertainty. It

often involves multiple types and sources of inputs, as well as their interpretation, which
can be subjective. It is important to understand cause and effect relationships and
potential unintended consequences. Facts, evidence and data analysis lead to greater
objectivity and confidence in decisions made.
Key Benefits (As per ISO 9000:2015)

1. There is an improvement in decision making processes;

2. There is an improvement in assessment of process performance and ability to
achieve objectives;
3. There is an improvement in operational effectiveness and efficiency;
4. There is an increased ability to review, challenge and change opinions and
decisions;
5. There is an increased ability to demonstrate the effectiveness of past decisions.
Possible actions (As per ISO 9000:2015)

Some of the possible actions that an organization can take includes:

It should determine, measure and monitor key indicators to demonstrate the

organizations performance;

It can make all data needed available to the relevant people;

It should ensure that data and information are sufficiently accurate, reliable and
secure;

It can analyse and evaluate data and information using suitable methods;

It should ensure people are competent to analyse and evaluate data as needed;

It can make decisions and take actions based on evidence, balanced with
experience and intuition.

Explanation:

This is the sixth of the Seven principles of Quality management and can be mapped to the
seventh of the Eight Quality principle which is Factual approach to decision making
. The term Factual approach to decision making has been change to Evidencebased Decision Making. The fifth principle of the Eight Quality principle System
approach to management no longer exist in the Seven principle of quality
management.The Eight principle definition stated Effective decisions are based on the
analysis
of
data
and information. The Seven principle definition states Decisions based on the analysis
and evaluation of data and information are more likely to produce desired
results. Evidence is information that shows or proves that something exists or is true.
Evidence can be collected by performing observations, measurements, tests, or by using
any other suitable method. Any decision making should away be based on evidences. The
organization should ensuring that data/information is sufficiently accurate and reliable.
The organization should make data accessible to those who need them. The organization
should analyze data using appropriate tools.The organization should make decision and
take actions based on analysis of data,balanced with experience and intuition.
7 Relationship Management
For sustained success, organizations manage their relationships with interested
parties, such as suppliers.
Rationale

Interested parties influence the performance of an organization. Sustained success is

more likely to be achieved when an organization manages relationships with its
interested parties to optimize their impact on its performance. Relationship management
with its supplier and partner network is often of particular importance
Key Benefits (As per ISO 9000:2015)

There is an enhanced performance of the organization and its relevant interested

parties through responding to the opportunities and constraints related to each
interested party;

There is a common understanding of objectives and values among interested

parties;

There is an increased capability to create value for interested parties by sharing

resources and competence and managing quality related risks;

There is a a well-managed supply chain that provides a stable flow of products

and services.

Possible actions (As per ISO 9000:2015)

Some of the possible actions that an organization can take includes:

It can determine relevant interested parties (such as providers, partners,

customers, investors, employees or society as a whole) and their relationship with
the organization;

It can determine and prioritize interested party relationships that need to be

managed;

It can establish relationships that balance short-term gains with long-term

considerations;

It can gather and share information, expertise and resources with relevant
interested parties;

It can measure performance and provide performance feedback to interested

parties, as appropriate, to enhance improvement initiatives; It can establish
collaborative development and improvement activities with providers, partners
and other interested parties;

It can encourage and recognize improvements and achievements by providers and

partners.

Explanation:

This is the seventh of the Seven principles of Quality management and can be mapped to
the eighth of the Eight Quality principle which is Mutually beneficial
supplier relationships . The term Mutually beneficial supplier relationships has
been change to Relationship Management. The fifth principle of the Eight Quality
principle System approach to management no longer exist in the Seven principle of
quality management.The Eight principle definition stated An organization and its
suppliers are interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the
ability of both to create value The Seven principle definition states For sustained
success, organizations manage their relationships with interested parties, such as
suppliers.An interested party is a person or group that has a stake in the success or

performance of an organization. Interested parties may be directly affected by the

organization or actively concerned about its performance. Interested parties can come
from inside or outside of the organization. Examples of interested parties
include customers, suppliers, owners, partners, employees, unions, bankers, or members
of the general public. Interested parties are also referred to as stakeholders. Relation
management with interested parties meaning sharing knowledge,vision,values,
understanding and suppliers are not treated as adversaries.The organization establishes a
relationships that balance short-term gains with long term considerations. There is
pooling of expertise and resources with partners. The Organization identifying and
selecting key suppliers. There is clear and open communication with the stake holders.
There is sharing of information and future plans. The organization establishes a joint
development and improvement activities. The organization inspiring,encourages and
recognize improvements and achievement by suppliers.