To make a quality product free of defects, missing features, and substantial variants, we need QA and QC to meet the customer’s expectations and needs.
What is Quality Assurance?
Quality assurance (QA) is the method of preventing errors and flaws in manufactured products and evading issues. Launching of QA planning commences at the beginning of a project.
QA concentrates on
- planning,
- writing, and
- deciding on many policies that are essential to ensure quality.
The goal of QA is to prevent faults from penetrating the software in the first place.
What is Quality Control
On the other hand, Quality Control contains all activities required to define the level of quality of the ICT solutions.
QC includes verification at expected quality levels. This indicates that the ICT solution validates against consumer requirements. The quality control process makes sure that the methods, techniques, approaches, and procedures used in the project are correct. QC activities check the deliverables of the project by monitoring and verifying to make sure they meet the defined quality standards.
QA vs QC
To understand the difference between Quality Control and Quality Assurance, one must know the following:
Quality Assurance
Quality Control
- Definition
QA is a bunch of rules for assuring quality in the procedure software is created.
QC is a bunch of rules for assuring error-free products. The rules focus on pinpointing flaws in the existing software created.
- Process
It is a proactive process.
It is a reactive process.
- Aim
QA aims to enhance development and test methods so that faults do not occur when the software is being created.
QC aims to recognize defects before it’s released.
- How
Appoint a sound quality management system and check its adequateness. Occasional conformance audits are also required.
Eliminating problems via tools so that consumers’ needs are always met.
- Responsibility
Whole team is liable for quality assurance.
Quality control is usually the liability of a QC engineer or a team that tests the software for flaws.
Example
Verification
Validation/Software Testing
Statistical Techniques
When Statistical Tools & Techniques are used to process inputs & operational frameworks, they are named Statistical Process Control (SPC).
When statistics are used to check finished products’ outputs, they are named Statistical Quality Control (SQC).
Tool,
It is a managerial tool. It is a corrective tool
Intention
QA is process-oriented. QC is product-oriented
Understand with an example
Consider a scenario where a team has to work on new technology for an upcoming project.
- QC team must collect pre-requisites such as DOUs (Document of Understandings), design documents, technical requirements documents, functional requirements documents, etc., and prevent errors in the software.
- After completing QA, QC will begin with assessment and testing. Assessment requires reviewing the design and strategy documents, specification strategy, and code.
After fixing every issue, the final product is ready.
Conclusion
Both QA and QC differ and are necessary components of quality management. The terms should not be used interchangeably. Quality assurance focuses on processes, while quality control focuses on end-products.
Overall, one can say that Quality assurance does not eliminate the necessity of Quality control since quality control is at the heart of Quality management.