Corrective Action for the Software Industry

Many people are confused about corrective action. They know it’s a requirement for compliance to standards such as ISO 9001. In some cases, the mandate is imposed by customers or regulatory agencies. Compounding this misunderstanding is that much of what has been written about the corrective action process is targeted toward manufacturing organizations, with the predictable references to tooling, production equipment, inspection of materials, storage issues, component design and the like. For software organizations, the product is intangible, and the processes may be electronically defined, derived, and controlled. Corrective action and the manner in which it is implemented needs to be explained specifically for software, both in language and supporting documentation. 


This practical handbook discusses the hows and whys of corrective action, with a particular focus on its application in software environments. It also illustrates how the process is integrated into the various other functions of the organization.