7 Quality management principles

One of the definitions of a “principle” is that it is a basic belief, theory or rule that has a major influence on the way in which something is done. “Quality management principles” are a set of fundamental beliefs, norms, rules and values that are accepted as true and can be used as a basis for quality management. The QMPs can be used as a foundation to guide an organization’s performance improvement. They were developed and updated by international experts of ISO/TC 176, which is responsible for developing and maintaining ISO’s quality management standards. This document provides for each QMP: 


• Statement: Description of the principle 
• Rationale : Explanation of why the principle is important for the organization 
• Key benefits: Examples of benefits associated with the principle 
• Actions you can take: Examples of typical actions to improve the organization’s performance when applying the principle
The seven quality management principles are: 
QMP 1 - Customer focus 
QMP 2 - Leadership 
QMP 3 - Engagement of people 
QMP 4 - Process approach 
QMP 5 - Improvement 
QMP 6 - Evidence-based decision making 
QMP 7 - Relationship management
These principles are not listed in priority order. The relative importance of each principle will vary from organization to organization and can be expected to change over time.
This document introduces seven quality management principles (QMPs). ISO 9000, ISO 9001 and related ISO quality management standards are based on these seven QMPs