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As a tech enthusiast, have you ever needed clarification about quality assurance and quality control? If yes, then it’s okay because QA and QC are often used interchangeably, but you must know that they are different processes that occur at other times. In the software development industry, quality assurance and quality control are essential activities that enhance the overall QMS ( Quality Management System ).
It is vital to know the difference between these terms. That’s why we will cover the topic of quality assurance vs quality control in this blog.
If you wish to become a master in the field of quality management systems (QMS), knowing the meaning of QA and QC is a must for you. We are starting with the quality assurance first.
What is Quality Assurance?
Quality assurance (QA) is the process of ensuring that products, applications, or services meet specific standards and user requirements. It involves developing processes, procedures, and guidelines to prevent defects or errors from occurring during the manufacturing or service delivery process.
QA promotes a culture of quality inside an organisation, in which teams are focused on delivering products or services that meet the customer’s expectations. Organisations that apply quality assurance methods effectively can improve customer satisfaction and increase overall efficiency and profitability.
Key components of Quality Assurance are mentioned below:
- It is a proactive and preventive process.
- It mainly focuses on preventing bugs or defects in the process.
- It monitors that the processes manage and create applications as expected.
- It helps to identify the flaws in the process.
Understanding the definitions of QA and QC is essential for a learner. That’s why we provided the meaning of quality assurance. Let’s now explore the meaning and importance of quality control.
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What is Quality Control?
Quality control (QC) is the process-oriented procedure that ensures that products or services meet predefined quality standards. It includes work aimed at identifying and fixing errors or changes from the desired quality level before delivering the finished product to the customer.
It is the process of verifying, testing, and evaluating products or services at various stages of production in order to discover and correct any flaws or irregularities.
Key components of Quality Control are written as follows:
- It is a reactive process which is detective in nature.
- It aims to examine the quality of the final product and applications rather than focusing on the processes used to create them.
- It verifies the project delivery must match the defined quality standards.
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Quality Assurance vs Quality Control
We know the importance of time for our enthusiastic learners. That’s why we are providing the QA and QC difference in a tabular format so that you can quickly access this detailed information.
| Basis | Quality Assurance | Quality Control |
| Objective | It aims to ensure that the process will achieve the expected quality. | The aim is to fulfil the requested quality. |
| Phase | It gets involved during the development phase. | This is not included in the development phase. It gets involved once the final product is launched. |
| Tool Type | Quality assurance uses the managerial tools. | Quality control uses corrective tools. |
| Program Oriented | It does not include the program execution. | It necessarily includes the execution of the program. |
| Aim | It aims to prevent the errors and defects in the system. | It seeks to identify and improve the bugs and defects in the product or service. |
| Orientation | It is a process-oriented approach. | It is a product-oriented approach. |
| Measure Type | QA is a proactive measure. | QC is a reactive measure. |
| Technique Type | It uses preventive techniques. | It uses corrective techniques. |
| Order of execution | It is the initial method in the quality management system, and it is performed before the quality control process. | It is performed in the QMS after the QA process is completed. |
| STLC/SDLC? | It is crucial for the entire SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle). | It is responsible for the STLC (Software Testing Life Cycle). |
| Focus | It mainly focuses on the intermediate process during software development. | It keeps its primary focus on the final products/applications/services. |
| Activity Level | It is the low-level activity that helps identify bugs and errors in the process that quality control cannot perform. | It is the high-level activity that finds errors in the final product or service that quality assurance cannot perform. |
| Team | QA engineer and the team members of each department are involved in quality assurance. | Specifically, the project testing and QC team is engaged in quality control. |
| Time Consumption | QA is the least time-consuming process. | QC is a more time-consuming process. |
| Example | Verification | Validation |
| Statistical Technique | The SPC (Statistical Process Control) technique is applied to quality assurance. | The SQC (Statistical Quality Control) technique is applied to quality control. |
| Procedure | AuditsDocumentationChange Control Personnel Training Investigation Procedures Supplier Management | Software Testing Laboratory Testing Validation Batch Inspection Product Sampling |
We have created this comparison table to help you understand the difference between quality assurance and quality control. Both of these are vital for software development, and if you are considering a career in either of these fields, you are on the right path. Many opportunities are available in these areas, so it’s a good choice for your career.
Final Thought
In summary, both QA and QC are essential for ensuring quality. As a QA expert, you must know that these terms operate at different levels in the production process and have different purposes.
We hope that our blog helped you to get the clarity between quality assurance vs quality control. However, by implementing both QA and QC effectively, organisations can efficiently deliver products and services that consistently meet customer requirements.
If you are interested in pursuing a career in the QA field, you can get mentorship from our experienced professionals.
