Terms related to trustworthiness · 3.5.5
control
a deliberate action taken on or within a process to meet stated objectives
What this term settles
The definition fixes what control means inside this vocabulary and, just as usefully, where the boundary sits. A reader who means something wider or narrower is using a different term and should say so.
Who it binds
The entry has no shall in it. Its force comes from use: once control appears in a procedure or a supplier term, this is the meaning the reader is entitled to rely on.
What to do in your practice
Use the entry as a test in the next review. Ask the owner to point at the artefact that shows control in this sense, then record the answer with a date.
Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for
- A controlled vocabulary entry for control with the citation 3.5.5, 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 control 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
- control is used in the assurance argument without a written definition, so two teams can mean different things.
- The vocabulary is reviewed when someone remembers, not on a cadence, so entries drift from the artefacts they describe.
What to prepare before the amendment lands
Take the next policy revision and replace the loose use of control with the entry and its citation. Record the change in the vocabulary change log.
How to test it here
Take one live artefact rather than a template, find the sentence or field where control 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 control at the claim level "definition" and stops where the public record stops.
Common questions
- What does control mean in ISO 22989?
- a deliberate action taken on or within a process to meet stated objectives
- What evidence should we keep for 3.5.5?
- A controlled vocabulary entry for control with the citation 3.5.5, 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 control a requirement?
- No: control 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 3.5.5, 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