As mentioned earlier, if you look at a system or a process, there will be other systems and/or processes acting in concert with it. That these links work and that communication is effective is an important factor.
Here we add several influences on the company systems, including feedback loops. The feedback loops become important in ISO 9001. To most companies this is already a given. Feedback is historically important to most companies. While we can always cite examples of companies we believe do not care about any feedback (telecos, public utilities and government agencies are always being accused of not caring about customers), the truth is most companies are looking for and evaluating feedback. Sales is looking for information about their customers and what people want. Internally, manufacturing is always feeding back information to the design folks.
An Extended System
Sub-System
Process Within the System
System
ISO 19011 - Quality and Environmental Management Systems Auditing Forum Discussions
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