Software tools for ISO 9000 certification

This paper reports the findings of a survey on 24 commercial tools for ISO 9000 certification. We analyse these tools along several dimensions: certification stages supported, targeted industry sectors, and features. Each tool typically provides assistance for several stages of the certification process. Most tools provide some kinds of support for the system analysis, system implementation, system review and maintenance stages. As expected, many tools (about 33 per cent) are targeted specifically for the manufacturing sector. Another 60 per cent of the tools aim at the general business sector. Sixty per cent of the tools support assessment activities while about half support documentation template. No single tool covers all activities of the certification process. It is recommended that any company which is planning or is in the process of implementing a QMS should seriously consider the opportunity of using some of these automated tools.