ISO IEC 17007:2009 pdf download – Conformity assessment — Guidance for drafting normative documents suitable for use for conformity assessment.
5.2 Drafting specified requirements 5.2.1 Specified requirements relating to the characteristics of the object of conformity assessment should be stated in the clauses that form the normative parts of the document. 5.2.2 Specified requirements should be written in such a way that they are clear, direct and precise and will result in accurate and uniform interpretation, so that parties making use of the normative document are able to derive from the contents of the normative document a common understanding of its meaning and intent. 5.2.3 Normative documents for objects of conformity assessment should focus only on the criteria or performance characteristics of the object. 5.2.4 Normative documents may specify test methods for determining that the criteria or characteristics have been met. They should be expressed in such a way that any interested party may carry out the testing. It should be left to the users of the normative document to decide what conformity assessment activity (if any) will be utilized, who will carry out the conformity assessment and under what conditions. 5.2.5 Specified requirements should be written in terms of results or outcomes, together with limiting values and tolerances, where pertinent, and the methods of determination, such as test methods or inspection, in order to verify the specified characteristics. Examples of results or outcomes for a variety of objects of conformity assessment include: ⎯ a manufactured component specified in terms of durability and interoperability within an assembly; ⎯ market research service requirements in terms of defining market composition and reliability of data; ⎯ process requirements for organic agriculture to ensure that production and supply result in food products free of inorganic contaminants; ⎯ a security management system specified in terms of effectiveness of the security environment and continual improvement; ⎯ requirements for personal financial planners in terms of the body of knowledge and experience necessary to demonstrate competence. 5.2.6 Specified requirements should be written in such a way that they facilitate the development of technology. In general, this is accomplished by: ⎯ specifying requirements in terms of performance, rather than design or descriptive characteristics; ⎯ specifying requirements related to the object, and not to the production process for the object. 5.2.7 Specified requirements should be divided into distinct, consistent and easily identifiable sections, in order to permit their incorporation by reference in codes, regulations and other standards. This structure permits selected clauses to be identified separately in a code or regulation when only part of the normative document is referenced.