The ISO 9000 family of international quality management standards and guidelines has earned a global reputation as the basis for establishing quality management systems.

This brochure has been developed by ISO Technical Committee ISO/TC 176, Quality management and quality assurance, which is responsible for developing and maintaining the ISO 9000 family. The brochure has been updated to take into account the revisions of several of the core series standards in the ISO 9000 family which were published on 15 December 2000 by ISO (International Organization for Standardization). These revised standards are identified by the "2000" in their designation.

The purpose of this brochure is to provide you with a general perspective on the ISO 9000 family of standards with emphasis on the features of the revised versions. It presents an overview of the standards and demonstrates how, collectively, they form a basis for continual improvement and business excellence. In particular, you will see how to distinguish between the various documents in the ISO 9000 family and how they may be utilized to your maximum benefit.

The familiar three standards ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and ISO 9003 have been integrated into the new ISO 9001:2000. This brochure provides you with general information on how to use the revised standard together with other documents in the ISO 9000 family to meet your specific requirements.

ISO 9001:2000 specifies requirements for a quality management system for any organization that needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer and applicable regulatory requirements and aims to enhance customer satisfaction. ISO 9001:2000 has been organized in a user-friendly format with terms that are easily recognized by all business sectors. The standard is used for certification/registration and contractual purposes by organizations seeking recognition of their quality management system.

The greatest value is obtained when you use the entire family of standards in an integrated manner. It is suggested that, beginning with ISO 9000:2000, you adopt ISO 9001:2000 to achieve a first level of performance. The practices described in ISO 9004:2000 may then be implemented to make your quality management system increasingly effective in achieving your own business goals. ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 9004:2000 have been formatted as a consistent pair of standards to facilitate their use. Using the standards in this way will also enable you to relate them to other management systems (e.g. environmental), many sector specific requirements (such as ISO/TS/16949 in the automotive industry) and will assist in gaining recognition through national award programmes.

This brochure provides you with:

• A list of the ISO 9000 quality management standards and guidelines;
• Examples of typical applications of the documents;
• A step-by-step process to implement a quality management system;
• A brief view of the future evolution of the ISO 9000 family.