ISO 9000 is a family of standards for quality management systems. Its origins lie in the British Government's drive for international standards in quality. To achieve these uniform standards internationally the International Standards Organisation chose to adopt the Brisitsh quality standard BS 5750 as an international standard. BS 5750 in turn had been derived by Rear Admiral Spikernell (Director General of BSI) from the Royal Navy's established and  proven quality standard DEF-STAN 05-21/24.

ISO 9000 is maintained by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization and is administered by accreditation and certification bodies. For a manufacturer, some of the requirements in ISO 9001 (which is one of the standards in the ISO 9000 family) would include:

• a set of procedures that cover all key processes in the business;
• monitoring manufacturing processes to ensure they are producing quality product;
• keeping proper records;
• checking outgoing product for defects, with appropriate corrective action where necessary; and
• regularly reviewing individual processes and the quality system itself for effectiveness.

A company or organization that has been independently audited and certified to be in conformance with ISO 9001 may publicly state that it is "ISO 9001 certified" or "ISO 9001 registered." Certification to an ISO 9000 standard does not guarantee the compliance (and therefore the quality) of end products and services; rather, it certifies that consistent business processes are being applied.

Although the standards originated in manufacturing, they are now employed across a wide range of other types of organizations, including colleges and universities. A "product", in ISO vocabulary, can mean a physical object, or services, or software.

It is widely acknowledged that proper quality management improves business, often having a positive effect on investment, market share, sales growth, sales margins, competitive advantage, and avoidance of litigation. ISO 9000 guidelines provide a comprehensive model for quality management systems that can make any company competitive. Barnes also cites a survey by Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance that indicated ISO 9000 increased net profit, and another by Deloitte-Touche that reported that the costs of registration were recovered in three years. According to the Providence Business News , implementing ISO often gives the following advantages:

1. Create a more efficient, effective operation
2. Increase customer satisfaction and retention
3. Reduce audits
4. Enhance marketing
5. Improve employee motivation, awareness, and morale
6. Promote international trade