Terms related to trustworthiness · 3.5.9
reliability
the property of behaving and producing results consistently with what was intended
What this term settles
This is the sense the standard gives reliability. A firm is free to use another sense, but then the difference belongs in its own glossary rather than in an assumed shared language.
Who it binds
Nothing here creates an obligation by itself, and the obligation for reliability arrives when the firm writes the term into a control, a specification or a purchase order.
What to do in your practice
Map the places reliability appears in policy, procurement and system records. Where the word is used without the entry behind it, add the citation or replace the sentence.
Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for
- A controlled vocabulary entry for reliability with the citation 3.5.9, an owner and a review date.An auditor can check that reliability is controlled rather than assumed.
- An assurance argument that links the property to the test, the review or the incident record behind it. The row names reliability.Shows reliability 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 record carries the reliability entry and its date.The assurance case asserts the property without naming the test, review or incident record that supports it. The gap is tested against reliability.
Common gaps this page catches
- reliability is used in the assurance argument without a written definition, so two teams can mean different things.
- reliability appears in a template with no citation, so the reader cannot tell which sense was intended.
What to prepare before the amendment lands
Put reliability on the agenda of the next AI governance meeting with two questions: where is it used, and what would show it is used correctly? Record the answers as actions.
How to test it here
Take one live artefact rather than a template, find the sentence or field where reliability 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 reliability at the claim level "definition" and stops where the public record stops.
Common questions
- What does reliability mean in ISO 22989?
- the property of behaving and producing results consistently with what was intended
- What evidence should we keep for 3.5.9?
- A controlled vocabulary entry for reliability with the citation 3.5.9, an owner and a review date. An assurance argument that links the property to the test, the review or the incident record behind it. The row names reliability.
- Is reliability a requirement?
- No: reliability 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 3.5.9, 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