1.1 This guide provides guidance for selecting, validating, and qualifying measurement methods when qualification is required for a specific program. The recommended practices presented in this guide provide a major part of a quality assurance program for the laboratory data (see Fig. 1). Qualification helps to assure that the data produced will meet established requirements.

1.2 The activities intended to assure the quality of analytical laboratory measurement data are diagrammed in Fig. 1. Discussion and guidance related to some of these activities appear in the following sections: