4.2 Clause
Definition of principles
The subclause defines the principles themselves. The public preview does not carry the wording, so this page states the function the principles serve and what a team should be able to show, rather than paraphrasing a text it cannot read.
What this settles
Principles are only useful if they can be tested against a real description. The test is not whether the words are quoted, but whether a reviewer can point to the place in the description where each principle changed a decision.
Who it binds
The organisation that adopts the framework. The principles do not create legal duties; they create an internal standard of justification.
What to do in your practice
Turn each principle into a question a reviewer can ask of a description. Keep the questions in the review checklist and record the answer, including where the answer is no.
Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for
| A principle-to-question checklist used in at least one review. | Shows the principles operate, not just appear. |
|---|---|
| Review minutes with one decision changed by a principle. | Proves the checklist has effect. |
| A note of any principle the team cannot apply, with the reason. | Surfaces a gap honestly. |
Which principle changed a decision in our last review, and can we show the minute?
Common gaps this page catches
- The principles appear in a policy preamble and nowhere in the review.
- Reviewers cannot say which principle they applied.
- A principle is impossible to test, and nobody has recorded why.
What to prepare before publication
Convert the principles into review questions and trial them on one live system. Keep the questions short enough to use in a 30 minute review.
How to test it here
Take one live system rather than a template, find the field or sentence where Definition of principles is used, and put this page beside it. Record the answer, the artefact and the date. A glossary entry on its own is an intention; a dated record beside a live artefact is evidence.
What this page does not claim
The page does not reproduce the draft, does not know the descriptor wording that the public preview withholds, and does not certify the system or the organisation. It states the unit at the claim level "principles clause" and stops where the public record stops.
Common questions
- What does Definition of principles mean in ISO/IEC DIS 42102?
- The subclause defines the principles themselves. The public preview does not carry the wording, so this page states the function the principles serve and what a team should be able to show, rather than paraphrasing a text it cannot read.
- What evidence should we keep for 4.2?
- A principle-to-question checklist used in at least one review. Review minutes with one decision changed by a principle.
- Is Definition of principles a requirement?
- No. The draft is a descriptive framework. It sets no management system requirement and no conformity test. It becomes binding only when a contract, a regulator or a management system adopts it.
Related units
Last updated: · Markdown version · Check your system