ISO/IEC TR 17032:2019 Conformity assessment - Guidelines and examples of a scheme for the certification of processes

A process is considered to be a transformation of input into output, as shown in Figure 1. It is a set of interrelated or interacting activities that use inputs to deliver an intended result. The output of a process can be a product, a service, a combination of a product and a service, or another output. In some cases, process certification is used when certification of the output is not feasible or prohibitively expensive. Certification of the process is the only indicator of quality of the output since the output itself is not certified. Schemes for the certification of processes can be developed for different purposes and can ensure the quality of the products or services that the processes produce. Other purposes can include schemes for processes established by regulators to achieve health, safety or environmental outcomes. Certification of processes that are used to develop products and services can facilitate trade, market access, fair competition and customer acceptance at national, regional and international levels.