The Difference Between Quality Assurance and Quality Control Open dialog article, Show
Effective quality systems can contribute enormously to the success of projects, but the counterpoint is that, when poorly understood, the quality systems are likely to be weak and ineffective in ensuring that the delivered system is delivered on time, built by the team within their allocated budget, and satisfies the customer’s requirements. This article considers the difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control. The concepts are investigated by looking at guidance from key industry players. IntroductionHow many times has it struck you that many practitioners involved in the ICT field lack an understanding of the difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control? Often you will hear someone talk about ‘QA’, when what they actually mean is ‘QC’. This ambiguity consistently throws up problems and is a sure way of undermining a project. Projects are negatively affected as it tends to lead to strained conversations and makes reaching consensus difficult. Although QA and QC are closely related concepts, and are both aspects of quality management, they are fundamentally different in their focus:
Achieving success in a project requires both QA and QC. If we only apply QA, then we have a set of processes that can be applied to ensure great quality in our delivered solution, but the delivered solution itself is never actually quality-checked. In either case, the delivered solution is unlikely to meet the customer expectation or satisfy the business needs that gave rise to the project in the first place. Understanding the Difference Between QA and QCSo, what exactly is the difference between Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC)? A good point of reference for understanding the difference is the ISO 9000 family of standards. These standards relate to quality management systems and are designed to help organisations meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders. In terms of this standard, a quality management system is comprised of quality planning and quality improvement activities, the establishment of a set of quality policies and objectives that will act as guidelines within an organisation, and QA and QC. In
the ISO 9000 standard, clause 3.2.10 defines Quality Control as: Clause 3.2.11 defines Quality Assurance as: These definitions lay a good foundation, but they are too broad and vague to be useful. NASA, one of the most rigorous software engineering firms in the world, provides the following definitions: Software Quality Control: Software Quality Assurance: Simply put, Quality Assurance focuses on the process of quality, while Quality Control focuses on the quality of output. Quality Assurance: a Strategy of PreventionQA is focused on planning, documenting and agreeing on a set of guidelines that are necessary to assure quality. QA planning is undertaken at the beginning of a project, and draws on both software specifications and industry or company standards. The typical outcomes of the QA planning activities are quality plans, inspection and test plans, the selection of defect tracking tools and the training of people in the selected methods and processes. The purpose of QA is to prevent defects from entering into the solution in the first place. In other words, QA is a pro-active management practice that is used to assure a stated level of quality for an IT initiative. Undertaking QA at the beginning of a project is a key tool to mitigate the risks that have been identified during the specification phases. Communication plays a pivotal role in managing project risk, and is crucial for realising effective QA. Part of any risk mitigation strategy is the clear communication of both the risks, and their associated remedies to the team or teams involved in the project. Quality Control: a Strategy of DetectionQuality Control, on the other hand, includes all activities that are designed to determine the level of quality of the delivered ICT solutions. QC is a reactive means by which quality is gauged and monitored, and QC includes all operational techniques and activities used to fulfil requirements for quality. These techniques and activities are agreed with customers and/or stakeholders before project work is commenced. QC involves verification of output conformance to desired quality levels. This means that the ICT solution is checked against customer requirements, with various checks being conducted at planned points in the development lifecycle. Teams will use, amongst other techniques, structured walkthroughs, testing and code inspections to ensure that the solution meets the agreed set of requirements. Benefits of Quality ManagementThe benefits of a structured approach to quality management cannot be ignored. Quality Control is used, in conjunction with the quality improvement activity, to isolate and provide feedback on the causes of quality problems. By using this approach consistently, across projects, the feedback mechanism works towards identifying root-cause problems, and then developing strategies to eliminating these problems. Using this holistic approach ensures that teams achieve ever higher levels of quality. As a consequence of formulating and executing a quality management plan the company can expect:
As the company’s quality management plan matures, the confidence of all stakeholders will grow. The company will be seen to be more effective and efficient in delivering an agreed ICT solution to clients. Dialog Information TechnologyDialog is a Premier Google for Work Partner and Microsoft Gold Partner in Australia and New Zealand, with over 1,200 full-time consultants and offices in all capital cities. Dialog Information Technology provides expertise in Quality Control and Quality Assurance and services range from strategic IT consulting through full lifecycle application development and managed application services to long-term operational support. Reference this article: Brett Arthur, The Difference Between Quality Assurance and Quality Control (2012-04-17) Open Dialog - Dialog Information Technology <http://www.dialog.com.au/open-dialog/the-difference-between-quality-assurance-and-quality-control/> Learn more about Dialog Information TechnologyI would like to learn more about Dialog Information Technology. Find out More © Dialog Pty Ltd ABN 16 010 089 175 - Ph: 1800 DIALOG . This work is copyright. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Aust Commonwealth), no part of this publication may be reproduced by any process, electronic or otherwise, without the specific written permission of the copyright owner. Neither may information be stored electronically in any form whatsoever without such permission. This document does not constitute advice and Dialog recommends that readers exercise their own care, skill and diligence with respect to the use, interpretation and reliance on this document. Trademarks mentioned are the property of the owner. What is difference between quality control and quality assurance?Quality control can be defined as "part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements." While quality assurance relates to how a process is performed or how a product is made, quality control is more the inspection aspect of quality management.
What is the difference between QC and QA quizlet?Terms in this set (23)
What is the difference between quality control and quality assurance? Quality control is a planned set of activities while quality assurance is monitoring the processes and methods used to ensure quality.
What is the difference between quality control and quality assurance PDF?Quality assurance is a process based approach and quality control is a product based approach. Quality assurance designs a process so that the product coming from this process is defect free, while quality control checks the product when you are producing it so no defected product gets into the market.
What is the difference between quality assurance QA and quality control QC )? Mcq?Explanation: QA stands for Quality Adjustment. QA is concerned with the functions related to the attainment of the required quality. QC stands for Quality control. QC is sustaining the product quality practically and ensuring that it meets the requirements given.
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