ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Training

Glossary of ISO 9001 Auditing Terms

Appendix A  

These definitions are based upon terms listed in the ISO 9000:2000 Fundamentals and Vocabulary standard.

Audit - A systematic, independent, and documented process for obtaining audit evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which audit criteria are fulfilled.

Audit Client - The person or organization requesting an audit.

Audit Conclusion - The outcome of an audit provided by the audit team after consideration of the audit objectives and all audit findings.

Audit Criteria - The set of policies, procedures, or requirements used as a reference against which audit evidence is compared.

Audit Evidence - The records (verified statements of fact or other information) relevant to the audit criteria and verifiable.

Audit Findings - The results of the evaluation of the collected audit evidence against audit criteria.

Audit Program - A set of one or more audits planned for a specific timeframe and directed towards a specific purpose.

Audit Team - One or more auditors conducting an audit.

Auditee - The organization being audited.

Auditor - A person with the competence to conduct an audit.
 
Capability - The ability of an organization, system, or process to realize a product that will fulfill the requirements for that product.

Characteristic - A distinguishing feature.

Concession - Permission to use or release a product that does not conform to specified requirements.

Conformity - The fulfillment of a requirement.

Continual Improvement - A recurring activity to increase the ability to fulfill requirements.

Correction - The action to eliminate a detected nonconformity.

Corrective Action - The action to eliminate the cause of a detected nonconformity or other undesirable situation.

Customer - The person or organization that receives a product.

Customer Satisfaction - A customer’s perception of the degree to which the customer’s requirements have been fulfilled.

Defect - The non-fulfillment of a requirement related to an intended or specified use.

Dependability - The collective term used to describe the availability performance and its influencing factors: reliability performance, maintainability performance, and maintenance support performance.
 
Document - Information and its supporting medium. A set of documents, for example, specifications and records, is often called documentation.

Effectiveness - The extent to which planned activities are realized and planned results achieved.
 
Efficiency - The relationship between the result achieved and the resources used.

ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Terms - Continued

Inspection - The conformity evaluation by observation and judgement accompanied as appropriate by measurement, testing, or gauging.

Management - The coordinated activities to direct and control an organization.

Management System - The interrelated or interacting elements necessary to establish policy and objectives and to achieve those objectives.

Measurement Process - The set of operations to determine the value of a quantity.

Measurement Control System - A set of interrelated or interacting elements necessary to achieve metrological confirmation and continual control of measurement processes.

Measuring Equipment - The measuring instrument, software, measurement standard, reference material, or auxiliary apparatus (or combination thereof) necessary to realize a measurement process.
 
Metrological Confirmation - A set of operations required to ensure that measuring equipment conforms to the requirements for its intended use.

Nonconformity - The non-fulfillment of a requirement.

Objective Evidence - The data supporting the existence or verity of something. It may be obtained through observation, measurement, test, or other means.

Organization - The group of people and facilities with an arrangement of responsibilities, authorities, and relationships.

Organizational Structure - The arrangement of responsibilities, authorities, and relationships between people.

Preventive Action - The action to eliminate the cause of a potential nonconformity or other undesirable potential situation.  

"Understanding ISO 9001" provides a detailed explanation of each ISO 9001 clause (requirements).

ISO 9001 FAQ provides answers to commonly asked questions about the ISO 9000 family of quality management standards.