A software quality perspective on the evolution of ISO 9001:1994 to ISO 9001:2000

The paper explores the implications of the ISO 9001:2000 Committee Draft in terms of its evolution from ISO 9001:1994. This review is undertaken using the business process model applied in ISO/IEC 12207 Software Lifecycle Processes. An analysis reveals there is only a moderate overlap between ISO 9001:1994 and the ISO/IEC 12207 process models. The gaps in the coverage are significant and account in part for the reluctance of the software development community to apply ISO 9001:1994. The emerging version of ISO 9001:2000 is examined in the light of ISO/IEC 12207. While the overlap between the process model of ISO/IEC 12207 and ISO 9001:2000 is improved (when compared to ISO 9001:1994), nevertheless there are inconsistencies needing to be addressed-the most noteworthy is the lack of commitment in ISO 9001:2000 to a true process orientation.