Introducing the Management Review, a close relative of ISO 9001

I reported for my first full-time job, a programmer for a Univac team in San Diego developing a variant of the Naval Tactical Data System, in June of 1965 (we used rotary phones, carbon paper, and computer punch cards in those days. I bought a Zenith vacuum-tube radio that summer – it still works). Following a long series of work and school commitments, as of January 2016, I am a “free agent.” Where my “career” will go from here, I do not know, but to see the future, it sometimes helps to study the past. To the point, I have many lessons, positive and negative, to reflect on and to share.

In the last 15 years, I have become familiar with a class of business meetings commonly referred to as Management Reviews (MRs). People familiar with the ISO 9001 Quality Assurance (QA) model from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) know that periodic MRs are an ISO 9001 requirement. However, I had occasion to “invent” an MR in 2001 when I assumed the role of business deputy in a division of the SPAWAR Systems Center, Pacific (SSC PAC). I point this out because there is no inherent reason that an MR must be tied to ISO 9001.

At SSC PAC, I introduced and conducted MRs within SSC PAC Departments, Divisions, and Branches. After leaving SSC PAC in 2006, in the role of ISO 9001 Quality Representative for a small defense contractor, I oversaw ISO 9001:2008 certification and conducted annual MRs. There is no teacher like experience; experience has taught me that realizing the benefits of an MR – and there are many – is an art. In this blog, I will share some of that experience – I welcome your feedback.

A point to keep in mind as you contemplate the value of MRs: Annual or Semi-Annual MRs are an ISO 9001 requirement for a reason, namely that a company cannot attain or maintain the QA level signified by 9001 certification without the multi-directional communications and the thorough review of company performance, Strengths-Weaknesses-Threats-and-Opportunities, and business status and plans that comprise a successful MR (when the MR is part of the ISO 9001 certification process, success is in the eye of the auditor).