Quality is only one positive statement about a product or service, which gives confidence. It is the certainty that a product or service will work well. Provides a guarantee that the product will function without problems according to expectations or requirements.
The literal definition of quality assurance is «maintaining a desired level of quality in a service or product, especially by paying attention to each stage of the delivery or production process ”.
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This encompasses the processes and procedures that systematically monitor different aspects of a service or product. Through audits and other forms of evaluation, quality assurance efforts detect and correct problems or variations that fall outside the standards or requirements established.
In other words, quality assurance ensures a high level of quality during product or service development.
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In this article you will find:
origins
Quality assurance methods focus on establishing good processes to produce products with the quality already instead of going through an unmonitored production process and trying to “inspect the quality” of a product that is already it's finished.
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The concepts of quality control go back at least to the Middle Ages and the emergence of the guilds. An artisan could access a network of connections with other artisans and suppliers by joining a trade organization. Then you could benefit from the guild's reputation based on quality standards in the products produced by its members.
The Industrial Revolution brought with it greater specialization in work, as well as mechanization. Quality assurance evolved to address specialized tasks performed by workers. With the introduction of mass production, the need to control the quality of components produced by large numbers of workers created a role for quality inspectors.
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Profits
Quality assurance is extremely beneficial for the company.
First of all, it is a way to ensure a smooth and calm end result of the development process. Quality is one of the key factors that keep users connected to what a company sells. If it is exceptional, they continue to use their product and the owner will continue to update and refine it. If missing, they will look for something else.
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Users do not care about anything else, only that the product or service complies with what it is or what it is for. The public needs to solve specific problems with a little help from what they are acquiring. This is why a well-oiled and thoroughly tested product has many more opportunities to survive and prosper in the market than some other unpolished.
Apart from that, quality products add credibility to the company, which leads to increased attention from users. Of course the trust will be there, so the sales will stay. All this allows a further evolution of the product.
In turn, this attracts potential investors, which leads to market share growth. This substantially increases the influence of the company and leads to an expansion of the field of interest.
Methods
From a formal point of view, the quality assurance process can be divided into four key elements:
- Determine the cause of the problem.
- Analyze the amount of effort and commitment required to solve the problem.
- Define the most effective way to fix it.
- Consider possible failures when making changes.
These actions apply to the following fields:
- Functionality- includes an examination of suitability, correctness of the implementation of functional parts and general interaction with other components of the system;
- Reliability- Includes testing crash scenarios and recovery possibilities to maximum operational potential.
- Usability- Includes testing the user interface and its understandability.
Differences between quality assurance and control
Quality control can be defined as "part of quality management focused on meeting quality requirements". Yes OK, quality assurance relates to how a process is performed or how a product is manufactured, quality control is more the inspection aspect of quality management.
An alternative definition is "the operational techniques and activities used to meet quality requirements."
Quality assurance and control are two aspects of quality management. While some quality assurance and quality control activities are related to each other, the two are defined differently.
In general, quality assurance activities and responsibilities cover virtually the entire quality assurance system. quality in one form or another, while quality control is a subset of the quality assurance activities quality.
Furthermore, the elements of the quality system may not be specifically covered by the activities and responsibilities of the AC and the QC, but may involve both.
Conclution
Quality assurance can be defined as "part of quality management focused on providing confidence in meeting quality requirements«. The trust that quality assurance provides is twofold: internally to the administration and externally to clients, government agencies, regulators, certifiers and third parties.
An alternative definition would be that they are the activities that are planned and systematized when implemented within a quality system. They are demonstrated to provide public confidence that a product will meet their requirements.
Although the concept of quality has existed since the earliest times, the study and definition of it have gained prominence only in the last century.
Nowadays, where the public now shares opinions of products and services through all social networks, it is when it is most necessary to maintain a quality assurance of the products. This does not mean that before it did not matter, but now today you can make your product or service known in many ways and quickly.
The better it is and the more it meets customer expectations, the faster it will be released.
