ISO 23592-2021 PDF

Full title and description

ISO 23592:2021 — Service excellence — Principles and model. This international standard defines terminology, core principles and a high-level model for achieving outstanding customer experience and sustainable customer delight across organizations that deliver services.

Abstract

This document specifies service excellence terminology, principles and a model to achieve outstanding customer experience and sustainable customer delight. It focuses on service excellence (beyond basic customer service) and applies to commercial organizations, public services and not-for-profit organizations seeking to design, deliver and sustain exceptional service experiences.

General information

• Status: Published
• Publication date: June 2021
• Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
• ICS / categories: 03.080.01 (Services in general)
• Edition / version: 1st edition (2021)
• Number of pages: 22

Scope

ISO 23592:2021 applies to all organizations that deliver services and provides a common vocabulary and a principles-based model to guide the design and management of service excellence. It is intended for organizations that want to move beyond basic service provision toward systematically creating outstanding and sustainable customer experiences.

Key topics and requirements

• Terminology for service excellence and related concepts.
• Core principles that underpin service excellence (customer focus, leadership integration, employee engagement, measurement and continual improvement).
• A high-level model describing elements and relationships needed to create outstanding customer experiences.
• Guidance to integrate service excellence across organizational culture, processes and stakeholder interactions (not a prescriptive management system standard).
• Emphasis on co-creation with stakeholders and sustainable customer delight rather than only transactional service levels.

Typical use and users

Used by service designers, senior managers, customer experience (CX) professionals, public sector leaders, consultants, trainers and organizations (for-profit and not-for-profit) seeking a principles-based framework to align strategy, culture and operations toward delivering exceptional service experiences. National standards bodies and organizations adopting national adoptions (e.g., DIN, BSI) also reference this standard when developing local guidance and training materials.

Related standards

ISO 23592 is complemented by related ISO publications from ISO/TC 312, including ISO/TS 24082:2021 (Service excellence — Designing excellent service to achieve outstanding customer experiences) and ISO/TS 23686:2022 (Service excellence — Measuring service excellence performance). It also aligns with other service-related guidance such as standards and technical specifications on complaints handling and service management used in national implementations.

Keywords

Service excellence; customer experience; service design; customer delight; service principles; ISO/TC 312; CX governance; stakeholder co-creation; service performance measurement.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO 23592:2021 is an international standard titled "Service excellence — Principles and model" that sets out terminology, principles and a high-level model to help organizations achieve outstanding customer experiences and sustainable customer delight.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers the vocabulary, core principles and a model for service excellence applicable across sectors. It focuses on excellence (beyond basic service), organizational integration of service principles, and the co-creation of superior customer experiences rather than prescribing a detailed management system.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: CX professionals, service designers, senior leaders, consultants, public-sector managers and organizations aiming to systematize and improve customer experience and service culture use this standard as guidance and a common reference.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: ISO 23592:2021 was published in 2021 and is the first edition; its status is "Published" (ISO lifecycle review applies). Users should check the ISO catalogue or their national standards body for any subsequent revisions or technical specifications that complement it.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — it is part of a body of work from ISO/TC 312 on service excellence. Companion documents include ISO/TS 24082:2021 (designing excellent service) and ISO/TS 23686:2022 (measuring service excellence performance), which provide more detailed guidance on design and metrics.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: Service excellence, customer experience, customer delight, service principles, service model, CX measurement, service design, stakeholder co-creation.