Analysis & evaluation
Plain-language summary
Turn your data into decisions: analyse and evaluate to judge conformity, satisfaction, QMS performance, planning effectiveness, risk actions, supplier performance and improvement needs.
What the clause is really asking
Analyse appropriate data from monitoring/measurement to evaluate: product/service conformity, customer satisfaction, QMS performance and effectiveness, whether planning was implemented effectively, effectiveness of risk/opportunity actions, external provider performance, and the need for improvements. Statistical methods among the tools.
What auditors look for
Auditors look for genuine analysis — trends, comparisons, correlations — rather than raw data tables, and for each of the listed evaluation outputs appearing somewhere (typically management review).
Typical evidence
Trend analyses; quality reports; supplier performance evaluations; analysis inputs to management review.
How to comply — recommendations
Build the analysis around the listed questions — one page per question per quarter answers the clause and gives management review real content instead of data dumps.
Common nonconformities
Raw data presented as 'analysis'; no trending across periods; risk action effectiveness never evaluated.
Related clauses
IATF 16949: extended by 9.1.3.1 prioritization
In the book
Chapter 9 — Evaluation — Reading Your Own Instruments treats this clause family in full: what it is really asking, what auditors look for, the evidence that satisfies, how to make it work on a real floor, and where companies stumble.
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Qlause provides interpretive guidance only and is not a substitute for the standard. Refer to your licensed copy of the relevant standard for the authoritative text.