How to provide evidence of Strategic Direction (Easy)

Q

QAMTY

Hi all

Regarding the strategic direction, and thinking about how to evidence
this to an auditor.

First, when hearing the word "strategic", it is supposed are necessary to make complex studies,analysis, etc.

No doubt that for some businesses such analysis may be necessary, but in

compliance to ISO, I think, we don´t have to worry too much about it, morover the way the standard require it, so ...

I plan to do it this way.
For clause 4.1, I will use SWOT, the outputs: weakness, strengths, threats and opportunities.

Ok, by applying SWOT methodology, I will use my strenghts to take the

opportunities, as well to minimize the threats, also to minimize the weaknesses.

taking the opportunities and minimizing my weaknesses neutralizing the threats.

Threats and weaknesses will be taken as Risks, these will be analized, evaluated, and treated.

Opportunities will be considered, analized, evaluated and treated.

Some other actions will be included in quality objectives

At this point I have done a strategic analysis.

I have analyzed my company at 30,000 feet sight, have considered internal and external aspects, environmental, regulatory, economic, etc.


So, no need for more evidences.

Please give some inputs

Thanks for your responses
 

Golfman25

Trusted Information Resource
I think it could be as simple as a written or oral statement of where you're going. Kind of like "what do you want to be in five years?"

Some will need to do a full analysis and planning. Others can do it while in the bathroom.
 

WCHorn

Rubber, Too Glamorous?
Trusted Information Resource
We just finished an internal audit to prepare for an upgrade audit to ISO 9001:2015. The internal auditor asked for the strategic direction of the company. We don't have one in writing, but he said it's a good idea that everyone in top management knows it so they can make a connection between the quality policy goals and objectives and strategic direction, as well as internal/external issues and the interested parties.

I made a recommendation to the CEO and to put it in an email to top management; I don't plan on any further documentation of the strategic direction with an explanation of how the direction corresponds to other elements of the QMS. Any other thoughts/ideas? Does this meet the intent of the standard?
 

dsanabria

Quite Involved in Discussions
Hi all

Regarding the strategic direction, and thinking about how to evidence
this to an auditor.

First, when hearing the word "strategic", it is supposed are necessary to make complex studies,analysis, etc.

No doubt that for some businesses such analysis may be necessary, but in

compliance to ISO, I think, we don´t have to worry too much about it, morover the way the standard require it, so ...

I plan to do it this way.
For clause 4.1, I will use SWOT, the outputs: weakness, strengths, threats and opportunities.

Ok, by applying SWOT methodology, I will use my strenghts to take the

opportunities, as well to minimize the threats, also to minimize the weaknesses.

taking the opportunities and minimizing my weaknesses neutralizing the threats.

Threats and weaknesses will be taken as Risks, these will be analized, evaluated, and treated.

Opportunities will be considered, analized, evaluated and treated.

Some other actions will be included in quality objectives

At this point I have done a strategic analysis.

I have analyzed my company at 30,000 feet sight, have considered internal and external aspects, environmental, regulatory, economic, etc.


So, no need for more evidences.

Please give some inputs

Thanks for your responses

You are definitely overthinking this process....

An auditor would just ask top management what is they vision - that should be done in a business plan.

The auditor would move on to other matters...
 
Last edited by a moderator:

blah01

Involved In Discussions
All I do for nebulous stuff like this is keep a matrix in Excel of the ISO requirements and have a column to capture how we comply to the requirements. For 4.1, all I've done is describe the management planning activities that have taken place in the period and the resulting Quality Objectives that came out of it, which I track in a dashboard. The CEO provided me a copy of the presentation package used during one such planning session, showing things like targeted markets and products and so on which helped, but I think I would have gotten through with just the matrix and the objectives. I also tied the whole resource planning thin to it as well.

Therefore I didn't really have to create anything new. It was just a matter of describing the management planning activities and some objective evidence.

We had out initial registration audit last and first maintenance audit this August and this has been sufficient to date.

Hope this helps.
 

AlienraverX

Registered
We were audited last year and again this year to the 2015 standard. They asked to see our strategic direction. We published it in our Quality Handbook (the old quality manual), which is our high level document. Our argument for documentation of the strategic direction was, if you don't have it spelled out for your management team, how do you expect for them all to be on the same page. Further more, it makes it clearer to the auditor, hence making your audit go smoother. Now the degree to which this needs to be pondered, depends on the size of our organization and what you are producing.
 

Big Jim

Admin
We were audited last year and again this year to the 2015 standard. They asked to see our strategic direction. We published it in our Quality Handbook (the old quality manual), which is our high level document. Our argument for documentation of the strategic direction was, if you don't have it spelled out for your management team, how do you expect for them all to be on the same page. Further more, it makes it clearer to the auditor, hence making your audit go smoother. Now the degree to which this needs to be pondered, depends on the size of our organization and what you are producing.

Strategic direction is fluid. It changes as conditions change. Don't overthink it.
 
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