Quality assurance is the process/procedures implemented in the project which shows the overall objectives, specifications and measurements.
Quality control is the overall focus on the outputs of the project. Analysis/testing is done in this portion to make sure the projects output data coincides with previous criteria set for the project.
After knowing the difference between the two, in then helps to remember that Quality assurance comes before quality control because of how one relies on the other in the overall project management process.
Hello,
Quality assurance is the process of ensuring that the project's quality requirements are being met throughout the project's life cycle. It is a proactive process that aims to prevent defects from occurring by establishing standards, policies, and procedures to be followed throughout the project. The primary focus of QA is on the process, rather than the final product, and it involves identifying and addressing potential problems early on to prevent them from impacting the final product. On the other hand, quality control is the process of checking the final product against the quality requirements to ensure that it meets the project's specifications. It is a reactive process that involves detecting and correcting defects after they have occurred. The primary focus of QC is on the final product, and it involves identifying defects and taking corrective action to fix them.
Both quality assurance and quality control exist under the quality management system. Quality assurance is defined as " quality management focused on providing confidence that quality requirements will be fulfilled" where Quality Control is defined as " quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements"
So quality assurance relates to how a process or product is created/executed while quality control is the actual task of inspecting each process or product. I like to imagine a chain of command to fully understand QA vs QC.
Quality System
- Quality Assurance
- Quality Control
Quality Control executes all the testing that is required to conform to a batch/ product that has been manufactured. The testing should meet the criteria, ranges, and specifications so it can release for validation and eventually be shipped out to the customer. Quality Assurance, on the other hand, makes sure all the documentation is filed appropriately. QA revises any inspection sheet that corresponds to the product produced and makes sure the GMP and other guidelines were appropriately followed. QA will then validate the product and approve the product to be shipped with the proper documentation. QC and QA work together for the Quality Department, they need one another in the workplace to work smoothly.
