This British Standard is the UK implementation of ISO 9000:2015.

ISO 9000 gives an overview of the fundamentals and concepts around quality management. The standard has been extensively revised and includes all of the terms and definitions users need to understand if they plan to implement a quality management system to the requirements of ISO 9001:2015.

ISO 9000 explores the principles of quality management, covering such topics as leadership, customer focus and the process approach, which ISO 9001 and all other newly revised ISO management systems use.

ISO 9000 is a normative reference for ISO 9001, which means it must be used to understand the technical definitions of key terms. ISO 9001:2015 does not contain any of these technical definitions, making ISO 9000 essential for users to fully understand ISO 9001. ISO 9000 is also the source document for definitions of technical terms in all of the other ISO quality standards.

This International Standard provides the fundamental concepts, principles and vocabulary for quality management systems (QMS) and provides the foundation for other QMS standards. This International Standard is intended to help the user to understand the fundamental concepts, principles and vocabulary of quality management, in order to be able to effectively and efficiently implement a QMS and realize value from other QMS standards.

This International Standard proposes a well-defined QMS, based on a framework that integrates established fundamental concepts, principles, processes and resources related to quality, in order to help organizations realize their objectives. It is applicable to all organizations, regardless of size, complexity or business model. Its aim is to increase an organization's awareness of its duties and commitment in fulfilling the needs and expectations of its customers and interested parties, and in achieving satisfaction with its products and services.

This International Standard contains seven quality management principles supporting the fundamental concepts. For each quality management principle, there is a "statement" describing each principle, a "rationale" explaining why the organization would address the principle, "key benefits" that are attributed to the principles, and "possible actions" that an organization can take in applying the principle.