ISO 9001:2026 Management Review: Required Inputs, Outputs and a Working Agenda
Management review is the one point in the quality system where top management is required to sit down, look at the evidence, and decide what to change. It is also one of the easiest places for an auditor to judge whether leadership is genuinely engaged. A review that is a slideshow presented by the quality manager, with no decisions recorded, tells the auditor a lot.
ISO 9001:2026 keeps the structure of clause 9.3 and adds an explicit input: changes in the needs and expectations of interested parties. Combined with the new emphasis on leadership promoting quality culture under clause 5.1.1, it makes management review more important as evidence than it was under the 2015 edition.
This guide lists the inputs and outputs, shows an agenda you can use, and explains how to run the meeting so the records show real decisions.
What clause 9.3 requires
Top management must review the QMS at planned intervals to ensure its continuing suitability, adequacy and effectiveness and its alignment with the strategic direction of the organization. The review must be planned and carried out taking specified inputs into consideration, and it must produce specified outputs. Documented information must be retained as evidence of the results.
The 2026 edition follows ISO's Harmonized Structure, which typically splits management review into general requirements, inputs and results. Check the sub-clause numbers in your licensed copy.
Required inputs
Paraphrased, the review must consider:
The status of actions from previous management reviews.
Changes in external and internal issues relevant to the QMS.
Changes in the needs and expectations of interested parties, which ISO 9001:2026 now lists explicitly.
Information on the performance and effectiveness of the QMS, including trends in:
The adequacy of resources.
The effectiveness of actions taken to address risks and opportunities.
Opportunities for improvement.
For item 4, the performance information includes trends in:
Customer satisfaction and feedback from relevant interested parties
The extent to which quality objectives have been met
Process performance and conformity of products and services
Nonconformities and corrective actions
Monitoring and measurement results
Audit results
The performance of external providers
Every input must be covered. The most common audit finding is a missing input, usually interested parties, resources or the effectiveness of risk actions.
Required outputs
The results of the review must include decisions and actions related to:
Opportunities for improvement
Any need for changes to the QMS
Resource needs
Each output should be specific, with an owner and a date. "Continue to monitor" is not a decision. "Approve a second CMM operator position, owner operations manager, by March 31" is.
How often to hold it
ISO 9001 says "planned intervals" and does not set a frequency. Annual is the minimum most certification bodies expect. Many organizations hold a full review annually, with shorter quarterly reviews of performance data. That works well, provided:
The quarterly meetings are recorded and count toward the inputs
Across the year, every required input is covered
At least one meeting covers the strategic questions of suitability, adequacy, effectiveness and alignment with strategy
Hold an additional review when something significant changes: a major customer loss, an acquisition, a serious quality escape or, this year, the transition to ISO 9001:2026.
Who should attend
Top management means the person or group who directs and controls the organization at the highest level. For a small company that may be the owner and general manager. For a larger one, the leadership team. The quality manager usually prepares and presents the data, but top management must be present and must make the decisions.
Invite process owners for the parts of the agenda that concern them. Their presence makes decisions faster and shows the auditor that the QMS is run by the business, not by the quality department.
A working agenda
Use this agenda for an annual review. Allow two to three hours for a small or mid-sized manufacturer.
Opening and purpose: attendees, scope, confirmation that the quality policy remains appropriate.
Actions from the last review: status of each action, closed or carried forward with a reason.
Context: changes in external and internal issues since the last review, including any change in the climate change decision.
Interested parties: changes in customer, regulatory, owner, employee and supplier needs and expectations, and which ones the QMS will address.
Customer satisfaction and feedback: survey results, scorecards, complaints and trends.
Quality objectives: results against targets, with decisions to close, continue or revise each one.
Process performance and product conformity: key process metrics, first-pass yield, scrap and rework, on-time delivery.
Nonconformities and corrective actions: numbers, trends, overdue actions and effectiveness.
Monitoring and measurement results: inspection and test results, calibration status.
Audit results: internal audits, certification body audits and customer audits.
External providers: supplier performance, rejections, corrective actions and changes to the approved supplier list.
Resources: people, competence, infrastructure, work environment and monitoring equipment.
Risks and opportunities: effectiveness of actions taken, and new risks and opportunities to add.
Quality culture and ethical behavior: what leadership has done and plans to do to promote them, which supports clause 5.1.1 evidence.
Opportunities for improvement: proposals from the business.
Decisions and actions: improvement actions, changes to the QMS and resource needs, each with an owner and date. Confirm the conclusion on suitability, adequacy, effectiveness and strategic alignment.
Preparing the inputs
Good management reviews are prepared, not improvised. Two to three weeks before the meeting:
Collect data for each input, covering the full period since the last review.
Present trends, not single numbers. A chart of complaints over twelve months tells top management more than this month's count.
Write a short summary for each input: what the data shows, and the question top management needs to decide.
Send the pack to attendees in advance so the meeting is spent on decisions.
Writing the minutes
The minutes are the evidence. Structure them by agenda item so that an auditor can match every input to the standard. For each item, record:
What was presented
The discussion, briefly
The decision or conclusion
Actions, with owner and due date
End with a clear statement of top management's conclusion on the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the QMS and its alignment with the organization's strategic direction. Keep the presentation pack with the minutes.
Using management review for the 2026 transition
If you are transitioning from ISO 9001:2015, the first management review after you revise your QMS is a key piece of transition evidence. Make sure it:
Covers the new explicit input on interested parties
Shows top management's decisions on promoting quality culture and ethical behavior
Reviews the effectiveness of actions on risks and on opportunities separately, following the split in clause 6.1. Our guide to risks and opportunities in ISO 9001:2026 explains how.
Records the decisions on QMS changes resulting from the gap assessment
Our ISO 9001:2026 gap assessment checklist lists the other changes to plan.
Common audit findings
Missing inputs. Usually interested parties, resources, external provider performance or effectiveness of actions on risks and opportunities.
No decisions. The minutes describe the data but record no outputs.
Actions not followed up. Actions from the previous review are not reviewed.
Top management absent. The review was held by the quality manager and a few supervisors.
No conclusion. The minutes do not state whether the QMS is suitable, adequate and effective.
Data without trends. A single snapshot rather than performance over the period.
Documents that help
A.P. Lyon's Management Review Procedure ($99) for ISO 9001:2026 covers planning, every required input including the interested parties input, outputs and minutes, with an agenda and minutes form. It links to the QMS Context and Planning Procedure for context, risks and objectives, and to the Organization, Responsibilities and Authority procedure for top management's role.
The Management Review Procedure is included in every ISO 9001 QMS package. For dual-certified medical device suppliers, see the Dual-Standard Management Review Procedure, which also covers the ISO 13485 inputs.
The documents need to be adapted to how your organization works. They are a starting point, not certification.
Next steps
Read how to set quality objectives that feed the review, see the full list of changes in our ISO 9001:2026 Guide, or choose procedures in Build Your QMS. For help facilitating your first 2026 management review, see consulting.
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