Conventional thinking would conclude that agile and ISO must not be compatible. After all, ISO is often characterized as being heavy on process / heavy on documentation - the opposite of agile. Just as the assumption that agile is about no documentation is faulty, so are the assumptions that ISO needs to be a burdensome process. ISO 9001:2000 is not only compatible with agile, but can provide just enough structure to help ensure your agile processes are followed.

This paper describes how Primavera Systems, a developer of enterprise project management software, established a Quality Management System (QMS) that was aligned with ISO 9001 while still maintaining all of the benefits of its Scrum / XP agile practices.