Key Concepts: Definition

Relevant Definitions (ISO/IEC 17000)

Conformity Assessment can be conducted by many people, such as the supplier, purchaser, or other stakeholders that may have an interest in the product or service, e.g. insurance companies and regulatory authorities. In Conformity Assessment, these different groups are considered as “parties”, and classified into the following types:

First-party conformity assessment activity:  conformity assessment activity that is performed by the person or organization that provides the object

Second-party conformity assessment activity:  conformity assessment activity that is performed by a person or organization that has a user interest in the object

Third-party conformity assessment activity: conformity assessment activity that is performed by a person or body that is independent of the person or organization that provides the object, and of user interests in that object

 

The terms described above are mainly from ISO/IEC 17000:2004 but where this standard does not define certain terms, other recognized sources are used (as indicated where relevant).