Quality assurance QA, also called quality control, is the process by which a product meets its intended specifications and delivers performance up to best practice or regulation. Quality assurance is often a vital process of quality assurance. The objective of quality assurance is to ensure customer satisfaction and build quality in an organization.
Quality assurance is a means of avoiding defects and errors in manufactured goods and avoiding issues when delivering goods or services to end users; this ISO 9000 defines quality assurance as “the identification of possible faults in processes or systems so that they can be corrected and improved so that the service or product meets the customer’s needs.” It is often used by product manufacturers to gain acceptance from potential customers. Quality assurance includes quality assurance testing and validation, quality assurance reviews, and post production quality assurance activities. Quality Assurance is used in almost all manufacturing processes.
Testing or verification is a quality assurance activity used to find and correct flaws in a product, software or process. In addition to checking for defects during manufacturing process, software testing helps eliminate the need for post production fixes. Software testing is very cost effective for small and medium sized organizations.
A quality assurance program must be comprehensive, covering all phases of a manufacturing process. This program must lay down the foundation for a company’s quality policies and must provide a systematic approach to achieve high levels of quality throughout the organization. The program must integrate quality assurance policies with organizational goals and objectives and with the resources available. To attain a program’s goals, there are two approaches to achieve quality assurance: either using formal and conforming methods or formalizing and regulating standards of quality.
An important part of the quality assurance program is the quality assurance inspection processes. These inspections help the company to eliminate the risks to the production process and to identify the sources of defects. Quality inspection processes also allow the identification of quality control hazards and help to resolve them. Inspection processes include quality assurance control and quality assurance risk management.
Quality assurance policies may involve formal and conforming processes. Quality Assurance Beginnings (QA Betsy) is a policy developed by the U.S. Department of Defense to guide suppliers in producing high quality military equipment and parts. The policy establishes the responsibilities of suppliers as well as their responsibilities to the United States. It specifies requirements that suppliers must follow to produce goods in acceptable quality and acceptable quantity. The policies also set forth methods for suppliers to become certified, registered, and approved to conduct business with the United States.