Guidance
Planning
The ISO Navigator™ database hyperlinks the ISO 9000:2005 principles and the ISO 9001:2008 requirements; and explains them in plain English with practical guidance.
This guidance has been superseded by ISO 9001:2026 Clause 6.2 Quality Objectives and Planning to Achieve Them. If you want to see a comparison matrix that correlates the requirements of ISO 9001:2008 to the revised requirements of ISO 9001:2015, please click here to begin comparing.
Our range of ISO 9001:2026 quality manuals and integrated manual templates cover the requirements of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, and offer an easy way to implement and document your organization's quality management system or integrated management system.
ISO 9001:2008: Quality objectives 5.4.1 (superseded)
Quality objectives are a clear requirement in their own right as opposed to being just a part of the policy. They must be established in support of the policies and focus on meeting product requirements and achieving continual improvement.
The translation of the quality policy into practice is made by defining the supporting objectives. ISO 9001 does not specify how the objectives should be documented; they could be documented in business plans, management review outputs or within the quality manual.
An effectively quality management system will align the policies with strategic and system objectives and provides the framework upon which to translate these objectives into functional targets.
The goal-oriented framework demonstrates how goals established at the uppermost levels of the organization flow down through the integrated management system to influence functional and personal objectives and targets.
Establish and maintain documented quality objectives and targets, at each relevant function and level within the organization. The objectives and targets establish an important link between the policies and the management programmes.
The objectives and targets must be consistent with the policies, including the commitment to prevention of pollution and continual improvement. Depending on the size, management structure, and other factors pertaining to your organization, the objectives may be established and reviewed by various personnel and with direct top management input.
Quality objectives are not static and should be updated in view of the prevailing business climate, customer expectations and continual improvement activities. Don’t be afraid to revise your objectives, but as always; ensure that personnel are made aware that they have changed! It is worth remembering that even partial achievement of a quality objective demonstrates improvement.
Want to know more?
- Read our customer's feedback
- Client list - who's using our templates?
- How the templates are formatted and download examples
- Why we use turtle diagrams and process maps
- What's the difference between a process and a procedure?
- About documented information
SSL certification
A certificate guarantees the information your internet browser is receiving now originates from the expected domain - https://www.iso9001help.co.uk. It guarantees that when you make a purchase, sensitive data is encrypted and sent to the right place, and not to a malicious third-party.
Free PDCA guidance
ISO Navigator™ is our FREE online training tool that shows you how to apply the principles of PDCA to your operations. We also offer many helpful templates that get you on the road to documenting your management system, please visit the download page.