Consists of individual but related international standards on quality management and quality assurance. Developed to help companies effectively document the elements to be implemented in order to maintain an efficient quality system. It is a requirement often placed on manufacturing companies. The basic idea behind ISO 9000 methodology is that you document what you do, then you do what you described in the documentation. During an ISO 9000 certification process, the examining registrar will audit your company to confirm that you are following the standard. If you re, you can be certified. An updated version is ISO 9001:2000, which requires that you demonstrate improvements are being made within your processes. ISO is Greek for Equal.