Ever since the appearance of the new revision of the ISO 9001 standard was published, I see incessant discussions of frightened Quality Assurance people on the differences between the revisions of 2015 and that of 2008. There is also a multitude of classes and training promising to help with the transition from the previous to the new.

My approach is different, as you already have come to know. In my opinion, and of those who share my approach, there is little real difference between the new, 2015 revision and the previous one. I see a more precise formulation, a welcome and excellent correction.

The prevailing Western approach regards Quality Assurance as a mostly technical profession, and therefore views the ISO 9001 standard same way as it would a mostly technical standard. That despite the fact that we all study the teachings of the whole splendid chain of all the QA “gurus”, both Western and Eastern, who have shaped our profession. And each and every one of them spoke of people and management far more than they ever did of anything technical.

Thus, I would like to invite you to watch a presentation I made, offering a totally different perspective from the conventional Western approach and an alternative way of thinking on what the standard really is, its purpose, and “what has changed this night of all nights” (nothing like Passover for asking such questions). 😀 (For those of you who missed the last words – this is a line from the Haggadah read on the Passover Seder night; the children ask 4 questions about the differences between that night and regular nights).