The Seven Quality Management Principles

ISO 9001 is built on seven principles. They are not clauses to be audited, but they explain why the clauses say what they say.

Principle	In practice
Customer focus	Requirements are understood before work starts, and satisfaction is measured afterwards.
Leadership	Direction is set and resourced, and quality is not delegated to a quality department.
Engagement of people	Competent, empowered people who can stop work that is going wrong.
Process approach	Work is managed as linked processes with inputs, outputs and owners.
Improvement	Permanent objective, resourced deliberately rather than fitted around the day job.
Evidence-based decision making	Decisions rest on data and analysis, not seniority.
Relationship management	Suppliers and partners are managed as part of the value chain.

Quality is not the absence of complaints. It is the consistent delivery of what was agreed, demonstrated with evidence.