Differentiate between quality control, quality assurance and quality management and what is their

relationship.

Answer

Quality control: Quality control (QC) is a procedure or set of procedures intended to ensure that a manufactured
product or performed service adheres to a defined set of quality criteria or meets the requirements of the client or
customer. You can also define QC is a system of maintaining standards in manufactured products by testing a
sample of the output against the specification. Quality control can be considered to be as the process of having to
meet the quality requirements.

Quality Assurance: Quality Assurance (QA) refers to the confirmation that specified requirements have been
met by a product or service, QC refers to the actual inspection of these elements.QA is sometimes expressed
together with QC as a single expression: quality assurance and control (QA/QC).or you can also define Quality
Assurance is process oriented and focuses on defect prevention, QA can be considered as a means of having to
provide guarantee that the quality standards will be met.

Quality Management: Quality management (QA) can be considered as the process of having to evaluate all
the various tasks and activities, systems and process that are intended to produce a product or a service are
consistent. It is the act of overseeing all activities and tasks needed to maintain a desired level of excellence.
Quality management includes the determination of a quality policy, creating and implementing quality planning and
assurance, and quality control and quality improvement.

In my opinion quality management ensures that an organization, product or service is consistent. It has four main
components: quality planning, quality assurance, quality control and quality improvement. Quality management is
focused not only on product and service quality, but also on the means to achieve it. Quality management,
therefore, uses quality assurance and control of processes as well as products to achieve more consistent quality.
What a customer wants and is willing to pay for it determines quality. It is a written or unwritten commitment to a
known or unknown consumer in the market. Thus, quality can be defined as fitness for intended use or, in other
words, how well the product performs its intended function.

Relationship Explanation:

Quality control can be considered to be as the process of having to meet the quality requirements.

 This may mean having to sustain or possible improve the quality standards of a product.

Quality assurance can be considered as a means of having to provide guarantee that the quality standards will be
met.
  This means basically means that whilst the quality control is focused on the end result quality assurance is
focused on improving quality at each stage of the process

Quality management can be considered as the process of having to evaluate all the various tasks and activities,
systems and process that are intended to produce a product or a service are consistent.

 Consistency plays a significant role in ensuring that the required level of quality is met.

Many people think QA and QC are the same and interchangeable but this is not true. Both are tightly linked and
sometimes it is very difficult to identify the differences. Fact is both are related to each other but they are different
in origins. QA and QC both are part of Quality Management however QA is focusing on preventing defect while
QC is focusing on identifying the defect.

In my opinion, QC is required after QA is done. While doing ‘QA’, we define the processes, policies & strategies,
establish standards, develop checklists etc. that needs to be used and followed throughout the life cycle of a
project.

And while doing QC we follow all those defined processes, standards and policies that we laid down in QA to make
sure that the project is maintaining high quality and the final outcome of the project at least meets the customer’s
expectations. Both Process Quality Assurance and Quality Control are the part of Quality Management, these
are the powerful techniques which can be used to ensure that the deliverables are of high quality and
meet expectations of the customers.
Quality control can be defined as "part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements."
While quality assurance relates to how a process is performed or how a product is made, quality control is
more the inspection aspect of quality management.

QA and QC are both part of Quality management, I am going to elaborate further in below mentioned
table

Quality Assurance Quality Control

It is a process which deliberates on providing assurance that QC is a process which deliberates on fulfilling the
quality request will be achieved. quality request.

A QA aim is to prevent the defect. A QC aim is to identify and improve the defects.

QA is the technique of managing quality. QC is a method to verify quality.

QA does not involve executing the program. QC always involves executing the program.

All team members are responsible for QA. Testing team is responsible for QC.

QA Example: Verification QC Example: Validation.

QA means Planning for doing a process. QC Means Action for executing the planned
process.

Statistical Technique used on QA is known as Statistical Technique used on QC is known as

Statistical Process Control (SPC.) Statistical Quality Control (SPC.)

QA makes sure you are doing the right things. QC makes sure the results of what you've done
are what you expected.

QA Defines standards and methodologies to followed in QC ensures that the standards are followed while
order to meet the customer requirements. working on the product.

QA is the process to create the deliverables. QC is the process to verify that deliverables.

QA is responsible for full software development life cycle. QC is responsible for software testing life cycle.