#120 – IS VUCA DISRUPTING ISO? – GREG HUTCHINS

Greg Hutchins pixYes. Standards making organizations are being disrupted by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity (VUCA).

In much the same way, ISO is innovating with RBT and risk requirements.

It seems ISO is innovating and developing a new business model based on RBT due to its changing marketplace and its uncertainty, specifically:

  • ISO was facing economic and revenue pressures. ISO publicly stated it needed to adopt a new business model due to its changing standards development context. Why? More standards are available online at a reduced price or gratis.
  • Multiple ISO management systems are being developed, such as for auto, aerospace, and other sectors. Diversity is creating more variation, uncertainty, and ultimately risk in standards development.
  • Customers want increased assurance beyond management systems certification including business and risk assurance. This is creating a market for multiple types and levels of assurance from commodity certification to business assurance to ‘opinion’ based attestation more commonly found in financial statements.
  • Global standards emphasize public safety, health and risk criteria, specifically placing risk along side quality or even replacing quality.
  • Risk is becoming more prominent in government, public agency, and NGO operations, so contractors and consultants are developing risk management, assurance, and control programs.
  • Management system certification is commodifying and losing brand value in developed countries. The trend is management system certification may even commodify in maturing countries, where significant growth has occurred over the last ten years.
  • Credibility of third party certifications is decreasing in sectors and in developed countries.
  • More companies are self certifying or self declaring conformance to management system standards.

Bottom Line:  Times are a’changing for all standards organizations.

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