Difference Between Quality Assurance And Quality Control In Software Testing (QA vs QC): Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) methodologies are widely recognized in various industries. In software development, people often use the term QA/QC to talk about checking how good something is without making a clear difference between the two.
This might be unclear for beginners because there are important differences between QA and QC when doing actual tasks. Our article will make it easier for you to understand these processes.
What Is Quality?
The degree to which a component, process, or system meets the specified requirements offers customers’ or clients’ needs and expectations. Or, in simple words, you can say that quality is doing things right and that something meets or exceeds the expectations of its customers.
Quality Definition by IEEE
- The degree to which a system, component, or process meets specified requirements.
- The degree to which a system, component, or process meets customer or user needs or expectations.
Quality Definition by ISTQB
- Quality: The degree to which a component, system, or process meets specified requirements and user/customer needs and expectations.
- Software Quality: The totality of functionality and features of a software product that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.
Before determining the difference between QA and QC, let us understand the meaning of quality assurance and control.
What is Assurance?
It is nothing but a positive declaration given by the organization’s management on a product or service, which offers the end-user confidence that a product or service like this will work as expected. The product will also work or perform without problems to meet customer expectations.
What is Quality Assurance?
Quality Assurance is also popular with the terminology QA. We can say that quality assurance (QA) is a systematic process of determining whether a product or service meets specified requirements.
That’s why quality assurance ensures that the approaches, methods, techniques, and processes designed for the project are implemented correctly. QA monitors and verifies that the process used to generate the deliverables follows correctly. Quality Assurance is also prevention in nature, which helps find the flaws in the process.
Good QA practices and culture are not an accident; they are intentionally built and monitored. . . . QA is much more likely to be effective and intentional when it is prioritized at all levels of the organization.
Forbes
And one more important thing about quality assurance (QA) is it should be completed before quality control (QC).
Different Activity & Process in QA
The Software Quality Assurance process has the following activities:
Process definition and implementation
We have already mentioned that software quality assurance is mostly focused on the processes in the process could be:
Once the above processes are defined and implemented, then the responsibility of quality assurance is:
- Identify the weaknesses in the process.
- Correct those weaknesses to improve the process.
Quality assurance is taking care of the entire software development life cycle. The goal is to improve the developed product or maintenance process continuously. The software products come as an outcome that should meet the specifications or requirements.
What is Quality Control?
In software engineering, quality control is also popular in QC’s name, and the primary goal of QC is to identify a defect. Quality control is a software engineering process used to ensure the quality of a product or a service.
Quality assurance deals with the process used to create a product, and quality control to examine the quality of the software product or the outcome product.
Quality control is carried out to check whether the product meets the customer’s requirements or specifications. During the quality control process, if there are some bugs, they should be fixed before being delivered to the client or customer.
Establishing a QC program is essential to maintaining a successful business. A quick fix or Band-Aid approach to your procedures won’t provide lasting results.
Forbes
That’s why doing the quality process after completing the quality assurance is recommended.
Different activities of QC
To ensure the quality of a product, software quality control has some setup activities, which include:
Quality control is not carried out throughout the software testing life cycle. Quality control is only limited to the review and testing phase of the software development cycle, and the goal is to ensure that the product meets the specific requirements or specifications.
Quality Assurance (QA) VS Quality Control (QC)
| Basis for Comparison | Quality Assurance (QA) | Quality Control (QC) |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Set of activities to ensure quality in the product development process. | Set of activities to ensure the quality of the end product. |
| Focus | Preventing defects by focusing on development and testing processes | Identifying defects in the developed product |
| Goals | Improve processes to prevent defects | Identify and remove product defects before release |
| Responsibility | Development team | Specialized testing team |
| As a Tool | Managerial tool | Corrective tool |
| Orientation | Process-oriented | Product-oriented |
| Execution | It does not involve executing code | Involves executing code |
| Software Lifecycle Scope | Full SDLC | Software testing phase |
| Deliverables | Creates quality deliverables | Verifies deliverables meet requirements |
| Activities | Ensures the right things are being done | Checks if expected results are achieved |
| Examples | Verification activities | Validation activities |
The Benefits of Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Above, we have discussed the difference between Quality Assurance and quality control. But now we are going to discuss what are the benefits of QA and QC:
- By following the process and activities, we can get a high-quality product by eliminating defects.
- QA and QC are helping us increase the efficiency of our operations.
- This provides customer satisfaction, which indirectly helps us in the organization’s branding and helps in growing the business.
- QA and QC encouraged a higher level of confidence and motivated the team.
Quality assurance and quality control are closely related, and they have a common objective: to deliver a defect-free product.
The process QA and QC are integral to a quality management plan. If anyone fails, then as a result, you will get a low-quality product.
Final Words
Understanding the distinction between Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) is crucial for ensuring the delivery of high-quality products in software development. While QA focuses on preventing defects by emphasizing development and testing processes, QC aims to identify and remove defects in the final product before release.
Both QA and QC contribute to the overall goal of delivering a defect-free product, and their integration is essential for a comprehensive quality management plan.
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