This document describes the fundamental concepts and principles of quality management which are universally applicable to the following: organizations seeking sustained success through the implementation of a quality management system; customers seeking confidence in an organization s ability to consistently provide products and services conforming to their requirements; organizations seeking confidence in their supply chain that product and service requirements will be met; organizations and interested parties seeking to improve communication through a common understanding of the vocabulary used in quality management; organizations performing conformity assessments against the requirements of ISO 9001; providers of training, assessment or advice in quality management; developers of related standards. This document specifies the terms and definitions that apply to all quality management and quality management system standards developed by ISO/TC 176.