# 3.1 algorithm, ISO 42102

Next: 3.2 AI system capabilities

  3.1 Defined term

  

# algorithm

  A finite, ordered set of instructions that accomplishes a task or solves a problem. The draft imports the idea from the older data processing vocabulary and adapts it to the AI context.

  
- defined term

- ISO/IEC DIS 42102

- Last updated: 2026-10-22

  
    

## What this settles

The term sets the lower bound of what counts as a method. A procedure with no finite stop is not an algorithm, and a learned model is not usually written as one, which is exactly why the method axis needs more than this word.

    

## Who it binds

No one. It is a definition. It becomes operative when a contract, a procedure or a standard adopts it.

    

## What to do in your practice

Use the word precisely in the method register. If a component is described as algorithmic, the reviewer should be able to see the ordered instructions and the stop condition, or the word is being used as a metaphor.

    

## Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for

      Three artefacts that make this unit checkableA method register entry that names the algorithm and its stop condition.Tests the definition against real work.
A specification or pseudocode for the procedure.Shows the instructions are finite and ordered.
A note where the word is used loosely, with the preferred term.Keeps the vocabulary honest.

    Ask your teamWhich component do we call algorithmic without being able to show its ordered instructions and its stop condition?

    

## Common gaps this page catches

- Algorithm is used for any automated step, including a learned model.

- A procedure has no stop condition and is still called an algorithm.

- The word appears in a policy with no link to the component it describes.

    

## What to prepare before publication

Fix the usage in the method register first. Then correct the policy sentence, because a loose definition in a policy is harder to dislodge later.

    

## How to test it here

Take one live system rather than a template, find the field or sentence where algorithm 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 "defined term" and stops where the public record stops.

    

## Common questions

    What does algorithm mean in ISO/IEC DIS 42102?
A finite, ordered set of instructions that accomplishes a task or solves a problem. The draft imports the idea from the older data processing vocabulary and adapts it to the AI context.
What evidence should we keep for 3.1?
A method register entry that names the algorithm and its stop condition. A specification or pseudocode for the procedure.
Is algorithm 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

    
- 3 Terms and definitions

- 3.7 hybrid AI

- 5 AI system methods dimension

  

  
    
      

## Source and claim

      ISO/IEC DIS 42102, Clause 3.1, algorithm

      Open the ISO public entry

      https://www.iso.org/standard/86898.html

      Retrieved 22 October 2026.

      The definition is in the public preview, in clause 3.

    

    
      

## The record

      Stage 40.60, Close of voting, recorded 8 September 2026.

      Planning date 16 September 2027, an estimate. See the basis.

      The draft record · How it is built

    

    
      

## Check your own system

      Build the method and capability matrix from ten answers and see which cells still need evidence.

      Run the free check

    

  

Nothing here is guessed while you wait. Every line is written from the public ISO record and the public preview, and points to the exact clause it came from. How the record is built.

Last updated: 2026-10-22 · Markdown version · Check your system

Source: https://iso-42102-revision-checker.theartofservice.com/glossary/algorithm/