What Is The Difference Between Quality Assurance, Quality Control, And Testing?

Many people and organizations are confused about the difference between quality assurance (QA),
quality control (QC), and testing. They are closely related, but they are different concepts. Since all three
are necessary to effectively manage the risks of developing and maintaining software, it is important for
software managers to understand the differences. They are defined below:

Quality Assurance: A set of activities designed to ensure that the development and/or
maintenance process is adequate to ensure a system will meet its objectives.
Quality Control: A set of activities designed to evaluate a developed work product.
Testing: The process of executing a system with the intent of finding defects. (Note that the
"process of executing a system" includes test planning prior to the execution of the test cases.)

QA activities ensure that the process is defined and appropriate. Methodology and standards
development are examples of QA activities. A QA review would focus on the process elements of a
project - e.g., are requirements being defined at the proper level of detail. In contrast, QC activities focus
on finding defects in specific deliverables - e.g., are the defined requirements the right requirements.
Testing is one example of a QC activity, but there are others such as inspections. Both QA and QC
activities are generally required for successful software development.
Controversy can arise around who should be responsible for QA and QC activities -- i.e., whether a group
external to the project management structure should have responsibility for either QA or QC. The correct
answer will vary depending on the situation, but Mosaic's experience suggests that:

While line management should have the primary responsibility for implementing the appropriate
QA, QC and testing activities on a project, an external QA function can provide valuable expertise
and perspective.
The amount of external QA/QC should be a function of the project risk and the process maturity
of an organization. As organizations mature, management and staff will implement the proper QA
and QC approaches as a matter of habit. When this happens only minimal external guidance and
review are needed.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control are extremely important aspects of any engineering or

construction project without which successful completion of the project cant be imagined. In fact,
these two are integral parts of virtually any project one can think of. Proper implementation of
Quality Assurance and Quality Control not only results in a sound project but also leads to more
economy by means of optimisation. Its hence important to realise the meaning or the definitions
of the terms Quality Assurance and Quality Control. Thats what this post is all about.

Quality Assurance : Quality Assurance or QA is the process of identifying or deciding all the
quality requirements for a project, identifying existing quality documents such as codes,
specifications etc. that are relevant to the quality requirements of the project and making them
available for use, preparation of new project specific quality documents such as Project Quality
Plan (PQP) or Quality Assurance Plan (QAP), Inspection Test Plans (ITP), Job Procedures (JP),
Project Specifications etc. that would provide the necessary framework or guidelines for ensuring

that the planned or targetted quality requirements (quality goals) for the project are achieved in a
systematic and timely manner.

Quality Assurance includes all those quality parameters or guidelines that would ensure that a
project or a product meets its planned or targetted quality by its stakeholders or the producers.
All the documents providing quality parameters or guidelines for that purpose are part of quality
domain and are called QA documents. Examples of QA documents are the Project Quality Plan
(PQP) or Quality Assurance Plan (QAP), Inspection Test Plans (ITP), Job Procedures (JP), codes
and so on.

Project Quality Plan (PQP) or the Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) is the most elaborate quality
document in a project. Ideally, it provides the complete framework or comprehensive guidelines
for achieving the planned or the target quality for all aspects involving the project such as
planning, design, engineering, construction, procurement, document control etc. etc.

QA documents like Inspection Test Plans (ITPs), Job Procedures (JPs) etc. are mostly
construction specific. Examples are ITPs and JPs for concreting, earthwork, structural steelwork,
grouting and many more, all of which are construction activities.

If the quality parameters or the guidelines provided in the QA documents are followed properly
the ultimate quality target for a project, product etc. would be achieved. To sum up in a simple
way, Quality Assurance is all about planning or finalising the quality targets for a project and then
showing the ways of achieving the same clearly.

Quality Control : Quality control includes all those tasks or activities performed in ground as per
the quality guidelines or framework prescribed in the Quality assurance documents such as
Project Quality Plan (PQP) or Quality Assurance Plan (QAP), Inspection Test Plans (ITPs), Job
Procedures (JPs), Project Specifications etc. in order to ascertain that the quality targets as laid
down in the QA documents are actually achieved in a systematic manner as suggested in these
documents. The quality documents generated while performing these tasks are Quality Control
documents or QC documents.

Lets consider a very common construction activity, say, concreting in order to have a clearer
picture of quality documents. The framework or the guidelines for achieving the desired or target
quality for concreting are provided in QA documents such as ITPs, JPs, codes and so on. As
prescribed in these documents various activities like designing concrete mixes, conducting

laboratory tests, doing inspections etc. etc. are performed. These are nothing but Quality Control
activities and the resulting documents like the concrete mix design reports, laboratory test
reports, inspection reports etc. are QC documents. Similarly, calibration of measuring and test
equipments and conducting quality audits are QC activities and the resulting calibration and audit
reports are QC documents. There are plenty of examples like these.

Also, while the forms for recording laboratory test results, calibration results etc. are actually QA
documents, they become reports or QC documents when they are filled with laboratory test
results or calibration results.

Quality Control is usually performed by contractors, manufacturers, suppliers etc. and often has
to be approved by their clients or the representatives of the clients such as the consultants.