Which of the following are considered as the ‘principal standards’ in the ISO series developed by the International Organization for Standardization?

A. ISO 9000
B. ISO 9001
C. ISO 9002
D. ISO 9003
E. ISO 9004

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Correct option is B

The ISO 9000 series is a set of international standards for quality management and quality assurance. Among this series, the principal standards originally referred to ISO 9001, ISO 9002, and ISO 9003. These were the main documents used for certification and implementation in industries and organizations globally.

• ISO 9001: Focused on quality assurance in design, development, production, installation, and servicing.

• ISO 9002: Addressed quality assurance in production, installation, and servicing only (excluding design and development).

• ISO 9003: Meant for final inspection and testing processes only.

These were considered the principal standards because they could be used for certification/auditing purposes by organizations to demonstrate conformity to quality management principles. Over time, ISO 9001 became the central standard, and ISO 9002 and 9003 were eventually withdrawn and incorporated into it.

Information Booster:

• ISO 9001 is the only standard in the ISO 9000 series for which an organization can be certified.

• The ISO 9000 family provides guidelines, not just requirements—ISO 9000 and 9004 are advisory, while ISO 9001 is mandatory for certification.

• ISO 9001 emphasizes customer satisfaction, process approach, and continuous improvement.

• ISO 9001 is applicable to any organization, regardless of size or industry.

• The latest version of ISO 9001 is ISO 9001:2015, which emphasizes risk-based thinking.

• The withdrawal of ISO 9002 and 9003 was done because their scopes were subsets of ISO 9001, making them redundant.

• Organizations globally prefer ISO 9001 due to its comprehensive quality framework.

Additional Knowledge:

• ISO 9000
  ISO 9000 provides the fundamentals and vocabulary used in the ISO 9000 family. It does not contain requirements for certification. Hence, it's not one of the principal standards used for quality certification.
• ISO 9004
  ISO 9004 provides guidance for performance improvement and goes beyond ISO 9001’s requirements. It is not certifiable and is intended for organizations aiming for sustained success through broader quality management approaches.