Terms related to trustworthiness · 3.5.4
bias
a systematic difference in how certain objects, people or groups are treated compared with others
What this term settles
The term looks ordinary until two teams use it differently. The entry removes that room by naming the thing, its inputs and its limits in one sentence.
Who it binds
A definition binds nobody on its own. It binds the reader who adopts bias in a policy, a contract, a data schema or an assurance argument.
What to do in your practice
Put bias in the controlled vocabulary with its citation, an owner and a review date. Then test the inventory and the policy against the entry and record every place the firm uses a different word for the same thing.
Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for
- A controlled vocabulary entry for bias with the citation 3.5.4, an owner and a review date.An auditor can check that the term is controlled rather than assumed.
- An assurance argument that links the property to the test, the review or the incident record behind it.Shows bias in use in the artefact the firm relies on, not only in a glossary.
- A register row with the owner, the date and the evidence reference for the claim.The assurance case asserts the property without naming the test, review or incident record that supports it.
Common gaps this page catches
- bias is used in the assurance argument without a written definition, so two teams can mean different things.
- The entry exists in a glossary but not in the system record, so the two disagree at the point of use.
What to prepare before the amendment lands
Brief the owners who use bias most often, then ask each to return one artefact that shows the entry in use. File the artefacts against the register row.
How to test it here
Take one live artefact rather than a template, find the sentence or field where bias is used, and put this page beside it. Record the answer, the artefact and the date, because that record is the evidence and a glossary entry on its own is only an intention.
What this page does not claim
The page does not reproduce the standard, certify the firm or predict the wording the amendment will use; it states bias at the claim level "definition" and stops where the public record stops.
Common questions
- What does bias mean in ISO 22989?
- a systematic difference in how certain objects, people or groups are treated compared with others
- What evidence should we keep for 3.5.4?
- A controlled vocabulary entry for bias with the citation 3.5.4, an owner and a review date. An assurance argument that links the property to the test, the review or the incident record behind it.
- Is bias a requirement?
- No: bias is a definition or clause of a terminology standard, and it becomes binding only when a firm writes it into a policy, a contract or a procedure, or when another standard incorporates it.
Related units
Source. ISO/IEC 22989:2022, Clause 3.5.4, Terms and definitions. Open the ISO public entry. Retrieved 21 October 2026.
https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/en/#iso:std:iso-iec:22989:ed-1:v1:en
ISO catalogue record 88145, the amendment status, stage and dates. Catalogue record 74296, the base standard.
Claim level: definition. The definition is in the public preview. This page states it in our own words and does not reproduce the text.
Last updated: 2026-10-21 · Markdown version · Check your vocabulary