The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was established in 1947 and is (currently) an association of approximately 157 members, which each represent their own country. ISO employs a system of Technical Committees, Sub-committees and Working Groups to develop International Standards. Besides the National Standards Bodies, ISO permits other international organizations that develop standards to participate in its work, by accepting them as Liaison members. ISO works in accordance with an agreed set of rules of procedure, the ISO/IEC Directives, which also include requirements on the presentation of standards.

The ISO 9000 standards are a collection of formal International Standards, Technical Specifications, Technical Reports, Handbooks and web based documents on Quality Management. There are approximately 25 documents in the collection altogether, with new or revised documents being developed on an ongoing basis. (It should be noted that many of the International Standards in the ISO 9000 family are numbered in the ISO 10000 range.)

The revision process is the responsibility of ISO Technical Committee no.176, Sub-committee no.2 (ISO/TC 176/SC 2) and is conducted on the basis of consensus among quality and industry experts nominated by ISO Member bodies, and representing all interested parties.

If a quality management system is appropriately implemented, utilizing the eight Quality Management Principles, and in accordance with ISO 9004, all of an organizations interested parties should benefit. For example:
Customers and users will benefit by receiving the products (see ISO 9000:2005, Fundamentals and vocabulary) that are:
Conforming to the requirements
Dependable and reliable
Available when needed
Maintainable
People in the organization will benefit by :
Better working conditions
Increased job satisfaction
Improved health and safety
Improved morale
Improved stability of employment
Owners and investors will benefit by :
Increased return on investment
Improved operational results
Increased market share
Increased profits
Suppliers and partners will benefit by :
Stability
Growth
Partnership and mutual understanding
Society will benefit by :
Fulfilment of legal and regulatory requirements
Improved health and safety
Reduced environmental impact
Increased security

Organizations in the process of certification to ISO 9001:2000 are recommended to apply for certification to ISO 9001:2008, as soon it is published. Up to its publication you can still apply for certification to ISO 9001:2000.