Modern Quality Control in Software Testing and Using It For Your Project’s Benefit

Quality control is obsolete. The spread of Agile, DevOps, and shift-left approach has pushed traditional QC out of businesses’ practices. We now have continuous improvement, user acceptance testing, and total quality management. Each of them strives to eliminate post-factum checks. And the ultimate goal for organizations today is to be as proactive as possible.

Yet, quality control testing isn’t lying curled up in the corner and barely breathing. It’s the most alive it’s ever been. You just may not have noticed how it has changed. So, let’s find out how to use it now.

What Is Quality Control Testing?

Originally, QC was a dedicated, post-release phase where a team checked a product’s quality. The purpose of this retroactive inspection was to see how well the preceding activities were carried out. For example, you could pinpoint how effective your testing was by looking at how many defects were present after completion.

Quality control in software testing acted as an evaluation of every procedure that went into creating a project. With it, you could find issues in:

• Requirements design.
• Team collaboration.
• Testing crew’s productivity, etc.

And locating these inefficiencies allowed you to advance your processes. But as the tech sector and QA services have transformed over the years, so has QC. Let us demonstrate this by taking a look at quality assurance and quality control testing definitions.

Both QA and QC center on testing. The only meaningful difference is that their testing takes place at different stages.

• QA works alongside development, checking a product as it’s being produced.
• QC takes a ready product and examines its quality.

So, you can see why quality assurance and quality control in testing are often equated to one another. But there’s another reason for this amalgamation.

Software QA services have evolved drastically. Quality-related procedures are now embedded into nearly every process. And with the abolishment of the waterfall model, there’s really no point for QC as the final check. Today, every SDLC has these “concluding verifications” spread across development.

• Shift-left testing – proactive testing during development.
• Continuous testing – automated tests at every stage of the CI/CD pipeline.
• Test-driven development – writing tests before code to ensure alignment with requirements.
• Behavior-driven development – collaboration between teams to define testable business scenarios.
• Observability and chaos engineering – using monitoring and fault-injection tools to verify system reliability in real-world conditions.

All of the above allow you to control quality not in the end but as you go. Now, there’s no place for the quality assurance vs quality control debate. Because they fused with one another. And quality control software testing is now a series of milestones, not one big investigation at the end.

What Is the Purpose of Quality Control Testing?

To better understand the role of quality control testing services, we’ll take a look at what they entail. Keep in mind that we’ll be focusing on the current iteration of QC. So, we’ll talk about the practices it involves as well as the forms it can take.

Quality Control Testing Methods

Product quality control testing is very far-reaching. You can check your code, QA procedures, or specific aspects, like compliance. So, there are as many QC methods as modules in your product.

#1 Manual and automated testing use human skills and tools to refine or streamline the QC process.

#2 Static testing involves analyzing the software’s code, documentation, and design without executing the program. It includes:

• Reviews – analysis of software’s building blocks, like code or documentation. The goal is to catch issues as early as possible.
• Walkthroughs – a step-by-step inspection process where every stakeholder analyses code, design, or documentation. In this case, the aim is to get everyone’s perspective on the current quality.
• Inspections – a formal, structured process where a team inspects the software artifacts for defects, completeness, and compliance with requirements. Here, the key is to systematize project knowledge and get as much data as possible.

Regarding the inspections, it’s often better to get an independent dedicated QA team to do it. You can hire specific experts to carry out the examination. Plus, you’ll get a fully objective view of your product.

#3 Dynamic testing means executing the software to validate its behavior and performance. It involves the QA activities you’re well-familiar with:

• Integration testing.
• Regression testing.
• Acceptance testing, etc.

#4 Performance testing evaluates software behavior under various conditions. It’s divided into:

• Load testing.
• Stress testing.
• Scalability testing and others.

#5 Compatibility testing ensures that the software performs well across different environments, including:

• Various devices.
• Browsers.
• Operating systems.

#6 Security testing checks the product for security vulnerabilities and fortifies its digital defenses through:

• Vulnerability scanning.
• Penetration testing.
• Ethical hacking, etc.

In case you’re curious why points four, five, and six are separated – it’s because they are extra complicated or prolonged QA processes. They also often require separate specialists due to the intricacies involved.

QC vs QA

We realize that now, the lines between QA and QC are even more blurred. So, let’s take a look at a few examples to better see their differences.

Say you’re working on a brand new project. You begin with manual tests to get the feel of the app – that’s QA. Once you have the necessary checks established, you automate them – that’s QC. Basically, you set a boundary that only high-quality elements can pass. In other words, your automated tests act as QC measures.

And if we consider regression testing, companies often integrate it into their CI/CD pipeline – that’s QA. But the checks that you run at the end of a sprint or pre-release – that’s QC. They cover bigger portions of your app. So, you can consider them as evaluating and polishing what’s already been done.

Overall, QC is whatever measure you decide to implement as a boundary. End-of-build checks, user acceptance testing, or periodical examinations can all be considered quality control stability testing. The main thing is that you treat QC like what it is: an evaluation of what’s been done.

Software Quality Control Services

So far, we’ve talked about internal QC. But quality control and testing are commonly used as an external service. An outsider evaluation offers teams certain benefits, like:

• Unbiased evaluation.
• Instant access to specific expertise and tools.
• Cost efficiency (particularly in terms of in-house QA resources).
• Focus on your crew’s core work (since QC is taken care of).
• Simple scalability of the service.
• Compliance assurance.
• Faster time-to-market due to divided labor.

As you can see, it’s a good strategy that can save costs, advance your team’s productivity, and improve your product. Now, let’s move on to the types of quality control services.

• Testing – running various tests (e.g., functional, performance, security) to identify defects. This helps find out whether there’s something impeding desired results, such as the crew’s expertise, inefficient use of tools, or poorly designed QA processes.
• Audit and software QA consulting – reviewing the product development or production process to ensure it follows the established quality standards and guidelines.
• Validation – verifying that the product meets customer requirements, regulatory standards, and initial specifications. It covers areas like design, functionality, and compliance.
• Defect tracking and reporting – tracking, logging, and reporting defects found during testing. This helps see whether issue prioritization and resolution are done correctly.
• Quality metrics and reporting – generating detailed reports on quality metrics (e.g., defect density, test coverage). Here, the quality control service is meant to provide insights into product performance and testing effectiveness.
• Software quality assessment and review – an independent review of code quality, testing coverage, and overall software performance.
• Continuous improvement services – defining process optimizations and implementing feedback loops to enhance software quality.

At the moment, you might be wondering which is better: internal or external testing and quality control. While there’s always a place for nuance, we’d say that independent QC is better for:

• Complex projects needing specific expertise.
• Small teams or startups lacking dedicated QA/QC resources.
• Products that are subject to strict compliance.

But generally, if you feel like you could do better, QC is your best bet for improvement.

And so we return to the initial question: “What is the purpose of quality control testing?” Well, it has the same goal as any quality-related procedure. Yet, to be more specific, QC is about establishing measures that let you know how productive your development is at any point in time.

Quality Control Testing Process

Based on the QC activity you’re considering, the process for it will differ. But overall, we’d say that quality assurance and quality control in software testing are very similar in their execution. Further, we’ll review how QC should go. And we’ll give an example to better explain it.

Planning Phase

Define quality goals, scope, resources, and testing strategy. Establish timelines and assign responsibilities to ensure efficient execution.

Say you’re planning to automate some of your tests for the first time. You’d need to determine what you want to achieve with them, what tests will be automated, who will do it, etc.

Test Case Development

Design detailed test cases based on requirements, covering all scenarios (positive, negative, edge cases). Prepare the test environment and data.

Next, you’d need to prepare everything for successful automation. You’d need to pick the tools, prepare the scripts, and plan for adding them to your CI\CD.

Test Execution

Run test cases to identify defects and validate the product against predefined criteria.

This is the active stage where your automated tests bring in the first results.

Defect Reporting & Tracking

Log identified defects with details (severity, steps to reproduce) into a tracking system. Prioritize and assign them for resolution.

Here, you gather the insights. You look at how many tests have passed or failed, maybe some of them broke, or perhaps something wasn’t covered.

Results Analysis

Review test outcomes to assess the product’s quality, identify patterns in defects, and evaluate whether the product meets quality standards.

You analyze the reports you’ve gathered and trace them back to how you’ve designed the automation process. This will help you pinpoint precise issues in your strategy.

Change Implementation

Apply fixes for defects, re-test the changes, and validate that updates haven’t introduced new issues. Implement changes needed to improve the processes if needed.

Finally, you amend the issues found during testing. You’ll also have to develop a strategy that brings your automation process up to par.

So, in the case of our example, QC was meant to check how well the automation procedures were designed and executed. Once this is done, automation becomes a QC measure itself, only letting through scenarios that have passed with no troubles. And yes, you can request quality control for your quality control. Even though it seems too meta.

Quality Control Best Practices

To make sure your quality control testing process is in pristine state, let’s talk insights. Our team has provided this service countless times. And when working with our clients, we’ve accumulated some recommendations you can use to level up your QC.

• Define and document measurable quality criteria that align with your goals.
• Engage QC teams during requirement analysis and design to identify potential issues upfront.
• Prioritize QC efforts on high-impact areas, such as critical functionalities or defect-prone components.
• Build close communication between QC, development, product management, and operations teams.
• Implement comprehensive testing that includes functional, non-functional, and exploratory testing to cover all aspects of quality.
• Track KPIs, such as defect rates, resolution times, and test coverage, to gauge QC effectiveness and guide improvement.
• Review and refine QC practices periodically to keep up with evolving technologies, methodologies, and business needs.
• Encourage QC teams to use exploratory testing to uncover hidden issues.
• Maintain a repository of lessons learned, defect trends, and testing strategies to foster continuous improvement and knowledge transfer.
• Design QC processes to handle increased complexity and volume as the product grows.
• Maintain clear, consistent, and detailed documentation for all QC processes, test cases, defect reports, and results.

The most significant piece of advice we could ever offer is for you to make sure you have an expert team. Quality control testing is a high-level activity. In other words, it requires a mix of ample and refined skills, which not everyone has. So, if you want for your QC to go genuinely well, find genuine specialists.

Quality Control Tools & Technologies

There’s quite a lot going into setting up your testing quality control process. That’s why we also should discuss the tools that make it easier. You’ll definitely need the good-old manual and automated QA software. But you should also invest in other high-quality tools and tech.

• Test management tools to organize, document, and manage test cases, plans, and results.
• Bug tracking systems to centralize the process of logging, tracking, and resolving defects.
• Performance monitoring tools for real-time insights into performance, such as speed, stability, and scalability.
• Reporting and analytics platforms for detailed insights and metrics on testing progress, defect trends, and overall quality.
• Collaboration tools to streamline communication and documentation for dispersed teams.

Overall, we’d recommend prioritizing technologies that let you exhaustively document the QC process. And, of course, you’ll need to focus on finding tools that let your teams communicate with no issues. Before you decide to settle on a particular option, consider these aspects:

• How well a tool covers your needs. Don’t focus solely on its reviews or status. Make sure the tool fits your project specifically.
• The crew’s familiarity with the tool. You don’t want your people to spend extra time learning it from scratch or struggle to use it.
• Whether the tool integrates with your current workflows. If it can’t work in tandem with what you’ve built so far, consider something else.
• How your tool can scale when your needs change. Don’t make your helper software a one-and-done deal. Examine whether it can accommodate shifting requirements and growing workload.

Briefly, ensure that whatever tool you choose is compatible with your project, comfortable to work with, and can be a long-term solution.

Challenges in Quality Control Testing

Lastly, we should get to know the difficulties you’re likely to face with your QC. These challenges aren’t signs of a poorly built process or subpar skills. They are simply snags you might encounter. And we’re pointing them out so that you can be fully prepared. So, let’s get comfortable with our little troublemakers.

• Establishing clear, measurable, and agreed-upon quality standards across teams.
• Identifying and covering all critical areas of QC.
• Properly documenting QC processes, test cases, or audit trails.
• Maintaining QC consistency and effectiveness as the project grows.
• Meeting deadlines while maintaining high quality.
• Interpreting QC data and taking meaningful actions based on it.
• Lacking skilled personnel, sufficient time, or the right technologies.

You certainly will have to consider the challenges that come with testing itself. It’s a big part of QC, after all. But that’s a subject for another article. When it comes to product quality control, you should perceive it as a strategy. And a valuable strategy is one where everything is structured, transparent, and realistic, which can be difficult to balance.

Hence, if you need help with your QC roadmap or execution don’t hesitate to reach out for expert assistance. There’s too much at stake with quality control. It can be the difference between wasted efforts and exceeding desired outcomes. So, take your time and do everything to execute it right.

To Sum Up

With the proactive and agile development of today, quality control testing may seem redundant. But can there ever be too much of something that makes your project better? QC is now a bunch of in-progress checks that allow your product to move forward confidently. And we think more companies should adopt it and treat it as what it truly is – a quality gateway.

The important thing is that businesses transition from confusing QC with testing itself or carrying a sort of final exam for their software. Because you can use a big stick as a hammer. The effect will be strikingly different, though. So, if you’re ready for the full power of QC – our experts are always here to assist you.