Quality Assurance Vs. Quality Control: Explained

Introduction
Quality is paramount for any product, wouldn’t you agree? Quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) are two processes in the software industry that warrant it.

Though they're often confused, QA and QC play different but complementary roles within a broader quality management system.

This article will dive into the nuances of QA and QC, exploring how they integrate into a quality management system, their key aspects, the differences between them, their role in the software development lifecycle (SDLC), and the benefits they provide when used together.

What is Quality Assurance (QA)?
Quality assurance (QA) is the process of systematically monitoring and evaluating various aspects of a project, product, or service to ensure it meets the desired quality standards.

Rather than just finding defects, QA focuses on improving the processes that create the product, aiming to prevent issues before they arise. This involves setting quality benchmarks (using benchmark testing), establishing standard procedures, and ensuring all activities align with these standards.

What is Quality Assurance?Important Components of QA
QA activities typically involve:

Defining QA processes
It involves creating clear and detailed standard operating procedures (company policies, processes, and predefined standards) to implement best QA practices.

Conducting regular audits and process checks
Running regular audits and process checks are the critical components of QA. They can help evaluate whether or not the established standards are being adhered to. Audits are typically conducted internally by a company (or externally by third-party evaluators) to provide an objective view of process compliance.

Skills and development training of team members
QA is part process and part personnel-driven. If your teams aren’t gearing up with new advancements in QA, you’re missing out. Quality standards are malleable with time and there’s a lot that the QA teams have to catch up on, to deliver the best software.

What is Quality Control (QC)?
Quality Control (QC) is a small part of quality assurance and is typically used to identify and prevent defects in a product. It's a crucial process that helps to minimize errors, defects, and costly reworks in the final product.

It primarily aims to identify any deviations from the established quality standards. Simply put, QC activities ensure that the final product has no issues, is uniform, and closely matches the original product requirements and specifications.

Unlike Quality Assurance (QA), which focuses on quality process improvement, QC is geared more towards ensuring the final output meets predetermined standards and is defect-free.

QC activities involve inspecting and testing products at various stages of product development and are typically conducted from the testing stage:

What is Quality Control (QC)?

Important Components of QC
QC activities typically include:

Product inspection and testing
They form the core of QC activities. Product inspection and testing help test, verify, and ultimately validate the final product against specified requirements. It often involves using quality methods like visual testing, functional testing, and performance testing.

Methods for reviewing and taking corrective actions
When defects are identified, the review process and employing methods to solve them come next. The process typically includes using methods for reviewing the issue, reporting it, getting to its root cause, and taking corrective actions to prevent recurrence. Next, the defects are documented, analyzed for patterns, and steps are taken to improve the process.

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Using statistical process control (SPC) techniques
SPC techniques use mathematical and statistical methods to monitor, gather, and analyze process data to identify trends or variations (if any) that may indicate quality issues in a product. Moreover, it allows for taking corrective actions in real-time based on statistical insights and evidence.

Quality Assurance Vs. Quality Control: Quick Summary
Here’s a table that summarizes “quality assurance vs. quality control”:

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
Aspect Quality Assurance (QA) Quality Control (QC)
Focus Process-oriented Product-oriented
Timing Proactive Reactive
Purpose Prevention of defects Detection of defects
Responsible Members Management and team-wide Specific QC Team
Level of Activity Keeps an eye on the project quality processes from since the product planning stages (low-level activities) Looks after high-level activities (starting from product testing)
Starting Phase in SDLC Planning Testing
Program Execution Inclusion May or may not include program execution Executes the program to check for issues
Aim Verification of activities Validate functions and check against specified requirements
How QA and QC Work Together
How QA and QC Work Together

Synergy in Quality Management
QA and QC are not isolated practices but interdependent components of an overall quality management system. Here’s how:

QA lays the groundwork for quality through process improvement. Complimenting it, QC verifies that these processes yield the desired outcomes. This synergy ensures quality in all aspects of development and final delivery.
QA and QC work together to run a cohesive quality management system. This minimizes defects and ultimately leads to happier end users. When both their activities work synchronously, companies can ensure a high-quality product.

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Examples of Effective Integration of QA and QC
Here’s a table that shows how QA and QC activities work together in a typical SDLC:

SDLC Stages QA Activities QC Activities
Planning - Define QA goals and company standards.

• Develop QA processes that work well.
• Identify potential quality risks.
• Create test plans that work best with the requirements. None Analysis - Review and analyze requirements for clarity, completeness, and testability.
• Identify QA requirements like resources, team members, etc. None Design - Review design documents with QA members involved.
• Create test cases based on design specifications. None Development - Participate in code reviews.
• Conduct unit testing.
• Set up and configure test environments. None Testing - Execute test cases.
• Report and track defects.
• Perform manual and automation testing. - Execute test cases.
• Verify product functionality.
• Report defects.
• Create bug reports. Integration - Review integration plans.
• Identify integration points and potential risks.
• Develop integration test cases. - Conduct integration testing.
• Verify successful integration of components. Deployment - Verify successful deployment.
• Conduct user acceptance testing (UAT). - Conduct final product inspection.
• Document defects.
• Compare the product against set industry standards. Maintenance - Monitor product quality.
• Perform regression testing
• Update QA processes.
• Monitor customer reviews and feedback. - Perform regression testing (if required).
• Verify defect fixes.
• Identify areas of improvement for the next release. Benefits of Combining QA and QC With QA and QC combined, you can ensure:

A high-quality end product — that’s performant and works well owing to best practices used for quality processes and adequately tested final outputs.
Happy users — contributes to a bug-free product, improved brand loyalty, and less customer churn.
Reduced costs — associated with reworks and defects, leading to increased profitability.
Early identification of defects — that allows for proactive mitigation strategies and better risk management procedures.
Faster Time-to-Market — with efficient development and bug life cycles.
Improved process efficiency — with smarter and more effective workflows, better resource management, and reduced product bottlenecks.

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Tools and Techniques Used in QA and QC
Here are some prominent tools you can employ for quality management activities:

Common Tools and Techniques for QA
Process Mapping
It is a visual representation that shows process workflows. It maps each step (or process components) in a clear and stepwise format. It involves creating flowcharts, process maps, document maps, and similar visual elements.

Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
RCA is a popular technique in QA to define, understand, and get to the real cause of a defect. It's a preventive measure and aims to identify the root cause (origin) of a defect. The defect can then be fixed and ensured it doesn’t reoccur.

Six Sigma
Six Sigma is another widely practiced methodology to reduce product defects and minimize (or eliminate) variance throughout the QA procedures. It typically uses two very similar methodologies or frameworks that include:

the DMAIC framework (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) and
the DMADV framework (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify).
ISO 9000 Series
The 9000 series standards help compare and validate QA processes for services and manufacturing industries.

ISO 25010 Standards
ISO 25010 helps evaluate the functional stability, performance efficiency, compatibility, and interaction capability of the software product quality.

HIPAA
HIPAA standards provide guidelines for data privacy and security provisions for the healthcare industry in the United States. These guidelines help mitigate ransomware and cyber attacks geared towards healthcare providers and insurers.

Common Tools and Techniques for QC
Statistical Quality Control (SQC)
SQC uses statistical tools and techniques ( e.g., control charts, acceptance sampling, process capability analysis) to collect and analyze data. This data can be used to identify defect patterns that might impact quality.

Automated Testing Tools
Automation tools help automate various testing methods (e.g., end-to-end testing) that require little to no human intervention. These tools help automate repetitive and long-running testing processes that can be prone to human errors. This allows teams to focus on manual testing methods that require human expertise.

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Challenges While Running QA and QC Activities (And Strategies To Overcome Them)
Some common challenges that may arise while running QA and QC include:

Insufficient resources
It’s one of the primary challenges that most companies face. There may be budget constraints or a lack of personnel dedicated to quality management. To tackle this, it’s best to prioritize high-impact areas to identify and fix critical functions first. Moreover, leverage test automation wherever possible.

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Undertrained team members
An undertrained team may struggle with evolving quality management practices and methods that could be critical for a product. This can lead to buggy and poor-quality products. To address the issue, effective KT sessions by senior members should be organized regularly. Regular training programs and encouraging members to obtain relevant professional certifications for QA can also be a huge step up.

Resistance to change from team members
Skills stagnation can also be a hurdle. It's especially problematic when team members feel comfortable with existing methods. To handle these scenarios, you can communicate the benefits of new processes through regular seminars and tech talks. Providing recognition and rewards for adopting new approaches can also be pretty effective in jolting team members towards growth.

Ineffective communication
Communication gaps can hinder QM activities. This can lead to unintended friction among cross-functioning team members, project delays, and even unresolved defects. It’s best to develop strategies (and use tools) to establish clear and open communication channels (e.g., regular team meetings, using PM tools). Other strategies may include creating regular feedback channels and prompt resolution strategies during disagreements or conflicts.

Rapidly changing technologies and changing user needs
New technologies and fluctuating end-user expectations from products can put pressure on QA teams and can be challenging at times. This can be solved only with continuous learning and adaptation to new technologies. Other measures include adopting agile methodologies for iterative development with quick feedback loops, keeping up-to-date test environments to match real-world conditions, and identifying potential risks associated with technology changes before going all in with the newest tool in the market.