TS ISO/IEC 20000-6

TS ISO/IEC 20000-6 is the standard that sets requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of service management systems. Its focus is the competence, consistency, and reliability of organizations that assess whether a service management system conforms to the relevant requirements in the TS ISO/IEC 20000 series, especially TS ISO/IEC 20000-1. In practice, it provides the framework for how certification bodies operate when they evaluate service management systems.

The certification body framework behind service management audits

In general technical terms, audit and certification bodies review evidence, assess conformity, and make certification decisions independently from the organization being audited. Key concepts in this field include auditor competence, impartiality, audit planning, traceability of findings, and the separation between assessment and decision-making. TS ISO/IEC 20000-6 addresses these bodies by combining service-management-specific expectations with the broader certification principles established in documents such as TS EN ISO/IEC 17021-1.

Why the service management vocabulary matters

A service management system governs how an organization plans, delivers, monitors, and improves services. The subject of this standard is not the service itself, but the certification body that evaluates the system behind it. That distinction matters because certification requirements are aimed at making the assessment process dependable and comparable, rather than defining service performance directly. Together with TS ISO/IEC 20000-1 and TS ISO/IEC 20000-10, it supports a shared technical language for service management certification.

• Requirements for bodies that audit and certify service management systems
• A framework that combines general certification principles with service-management-specific expectations
• A reference context linked to TS ISO/IEC 20000-1 and TS ISO/IEC 20000-10
• A focus on competence, impartiality, and consistency in certification activities