Quality assurance, quality control, and quality management are remarkably confusing. And it’s not surprising. The “original” QA, QC, and QM always had designated phases within software development. But as it turned more agile and collaborative, the trio became closely intertwined. And now, it’s tricky to separate them from one another. Because of that, it’s often difficult for companies to use them appropriately.
Today, we discuss the differences between QA, QC and QM and how to apply each for distinct product benefits.
Interestingly enough, QA and QM evolved from QC. The original practice of quality control was “testers” manually checking a product’s features to locate defects. Soon, businesses realized that preventing errors instead of fixing them was more cost-effective. The key to that was improving quality-related procedures.
That’s how QA was born. Instead of locating mistakes after they occurred, quality assurance focused on adapting workflows and teams. It allowed them to build better processes, capable of predicting and blocking defects before they became a part of a build. QA worked out so well that companies wanted to broaden its benefits.
So, QM entered the stage to engage every resource and crew member in achieving quality. That’s how we got cross-functional teams, leadership guidance, and closer collaboration with customers (user-centricity).
Further, the introduction of Agile, shift-left testing, DevOps, etc., made this lovely trio into a singular unit of quality. QM, QC, and QA have amalgamated to the point of creating an entirely new practice. This successor combined every good thing about the three approaches and brought them to a new level.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
To fully understand QC, QA, and QM, we need to take a look at what they mean in modern software development.
QC remains focused on detecting and correcting defects. But it now includes advanced automation testing services, monitoring, and real-time feedback. Here are a few examples of what QC handles currently:
So, you could say that the QC of today is the in-progress verifications that keep an app’s quality in check.
QA is now a collaborative, proactive practice. It’s embedded in every development phase, ensuring processes and systems are designed to produce high-quality outcomes. Modern QA emphasizes prevention over detection. It centers on:
The simplest way to think about QA is to consider it as everything that happens before testing itself. At the same time, QC has an effect on QA. As the results of quality control can tell if there are any issues with quality assurance. For instance, if there are too many bugs, then certain processes must be polished. So, when it comes to quality control vs assurance, there’s a bit of back and forth.
QM is a systematic, organization-wide approach to ensuring that all processes, teams, and tools contribute to delivering a quality product. Unlike QA or QC, which focus on specific aspects, QM looks at the bigger picture:
Basically, QM takes QA and QC’s principles and applies them on a larger scale. Here are a few instances of what quality management does:
Overall, while we’re trying to define QM, QA, and QC processes, separately, they typically work in tandem rather than on their own.
And honestly, if they were to function independently, development would be a lot more chaotic. The contemporary lack of any silos between these three practices is what makes them work so well.
Still, to use each quality method correctly, we need to review their differences.
QC is about checking the product to ensure it meets the required standards. It’s a hands-on process involving inspections and testing to identify defects or issues.
QA is about building confidence in processes so that the product consistently meets quality expectations. Instead of testing the final product, QA ensures the methods and workflows used to create the product are effective and efficient.
QM is the big-picture strategy that ties everything together. It oversees all quality-related activities, ensuring they align with organizational goals. QM encompasses both QA and QC while emphasizing customer satisfaction, compliance, and long-term improvement.
To summarize it all simply:
| Aspect | Quality Control | Quality Assurance | Quality Management |
| Definition | Focuses on identifying and fixing defects in products. | Focuses on ensuring processes prevent defects. | Establishes a systematic approach to quality at all levels. |
| Scope | Product-oriented, checks the final output. | Process-oriented, ensures proper workflows. | Covers processes, products, policies, and organizational goals. |
| Objective | Detect and fix defects. | Prevent defects from occurring. | Ensure consistent quality and continuous improvement. |
| Key activities | Testing, inspections, defect identification. | Process audits, training, and process standardization. | Policy creation, resource allocation, and overall quality strategy. |
| Standards and frameworks | Based on technical specifications and test cases. | Based on process standards like ISO 9001. | Includes frameworks like Total Quality Management. |
| Roles involved | Testers, quality control inspectors, production teams. | Process engineers, QA specialists, auditors. | Senior management, quality managers, all departments. |
| Procedures included | Inspection, functional testing, defect tracking. | Process design, risk assessment, root cause analysis. | Strategic planning, quality audits, cross-functional reviews. |
| Tools and technologies used | Testing tools, test management software. | Process mapping tools, defect prevention software, compliance tools. | Enterprise quality management software, data analytics platforms. |
Let’s take a closer look at quality management vs quality assurance vs quality control examples that are most relevant to your team.
When it comes to quality assurance vs control roles, there’s usually a significant overlap in skills. In other words, QA specialists can take on QC responsibilities as well. So, you don’t need distinct expertise to handle the latter. Still, depending on your team’s structure and workflow preferences, you can divide QC and QA duties or gather them under one crew.
QC roles focus on inspecting, testing, and identifying defects.
QA roles ensure that the processes are designed to meet quality standards.
QM roles center on maintaining overall quality systems, establishing quality policies, and ensuring compliance with standards.
You could say that QA is building a quality process; QC is executing the quality procedures; and QM is implementing quality activities across the company. And each method would need distinct specialists to handle these.
Activities involved in QC, QA, and QM differ based on the project. You decide what to include in each approach. So, there’s no static list of procedures. But if we focus on the characteristics and purposes of this trio, then we can somewhat clearly split relevant operations.
QC procedures are hands-on activities.
QA procedures are mostly concerned with planning and monitoring.
QM procedures focus on the implementation of quality aspects within a company as a whole.
Quality management is the obvious outlier here. It’s the most complicated approach, requiring significant organizational changes. While you can create a good product without it, sustained growth and consistent quality would be challenging to achieve with QA and QC only.
This aspect of QM, QC, and QA is rather tricky. The tools and technologies you use depend on the approach you’re using. But they’re mostly affected by how you choose to do things and how you can do them. So, it’s less about the method you rely on (QC, QA, or QM) and more about your team’s skills and present processes.
QC tools are used to:
QA tools are used to:
QM tools are used to:
With this, we see a clear separation into product (QC), process (QA), and organization (QM). But there’s a small issue.
In the IT of today, quality assurance and quality control are kind of the same thing. Think about it: process (QA) informs testing activities (QC), and testing activities affect the process. You may think that it’s still QA vs QC. They are related but separate practices. Allow us to explain why it’s not really the case.
We’ve talked about how QA evolved from QC. “Testers” became QA engineers. They’re now involved in many processes, not just defect hunting. And the expertise of these specialists allows them to both design and execute quality activities. Typically, QA engineers can do the following:
So, you can see that QA roles are perfectly capable of covering QC. Plus, the one true difference between quality assurance and quality control is that one is proactive, the other is reactive. These two are kind of separated into “before” and “after.” But this division is due to older methodologies, like Waterfall.
Now, there’s no severance in software development. Testing and process improvements are continuous. And thus, when we see the question, “What is the difference between quality control and quality assurance?” the only logical answer we can give is:
That’s the only separation point between this duo. For some, this way is better. It allows companies to select targeted activities, assign duties, etc. For others, segregating QA from QC may be redundant. And it might be easier to have one team manage both.
Overall, it’s a matter of preference. If quality assurance and quality control differences are significant for your project, you’re free to keep them independent. For example, say you already have a defined QA process. But you don’t have enough people to run testing. Then, you could hire a crew or use software testing outsourcing specifically for that. This gives your new members a clear task and avoids duty overlap.
In the opposite scenario, QC can be a part of QA, not a separate approach to quality. And you can just have a dedicated QA team who handles both.
Remember we mentioned a QC, QA, QM successor at the beginning? It’s time to talk about it. The youngest approach, developed in the 2000s, and the next step of quality evolution – quality engineering.
This behemoth unifies every method we’ve talked about and amplifies their benefits. QE’s sole mission is to make quality the number one priority. So, if QC is about the product, QA is about the process, and QM is about the organization, then QE is all about quality. In everything.
QE asks: “What can we do here to make this as close to perfection as possible?”
It handles anything that can affect your project, from requirements design to team upskilling. And honestly, we love it. QM, QC, and QA seem to separate quality into distinct phases or activities. QE, on the other hand, says that quality shouldn’t be ever separate. It needs to be at the core of your company’s every move.
Quality engineering is a phenomenal concept. And it deserves more of your attention. So, feel free to check out our article on it. For now, we move on.
Alright, you’ve had enough theory at this point. Let’s talk practice. Now that we’re on the same page about quality approaches, we should discuss how you can implement and improve them.
We don’t want to give you rigid instructions. How you do things should be based on your project and goals, not a manual. So, instead, we’ll focus on tips and best practices that can help advance your QC, QA, and QM.
Set up a shared responsibility model where everyone, from developers to product managers, takes ownership of quality. Hold regular meetings with all teams to discuss quality goals, challenges, and solutions. Encourage input from everyone. The key is to make quality a part of the company’s culture, not just a final check.
Define clear quality metrics like defect density, test coverage, and bug resolution times. Track these over time to see progress and identify areas for improvement. If defects are found after production, it could signal a need to adjust testing earlier in the development process. Review these metrics regularly with your team to spot any issues.
Involve QA engineers early in planning so they can help define testable requirements from the start. Use a shift-left approach to testing, meaning testing starts early, even before development with methods like test-driven development. This way, problems are caught earlier and fixed faster.
Automate repetitive testing tasks, like regression or performance tests, to save time and reduce errors. Integrate these automated tests into your development pipeline so they run every time the code is updated. Immediate feedback helps quickly identify issues and fix them before they become bigger problems.
After each development phase, hold a retrospective meeting where the team can discuss what went well and what could be improved. Focus on processes, tools, and team collaboration. Identify any bottlenecks or issues and use the feedback to make the next phase more efficient.
Provide your team with the best tools for managing tests, tracking bugs, and collaborating. Make sure everyone is trained in how to use these tools and understands quality routines, like writing testable code or creating effective test cases. Ongoing training helps the team stay up to date with new technologies and best practices.
Involve QA from the beginning of the planning and design phases to ensure features are clearly defined and testable. Set clear, agreed-upon acceptance criteria so dev teams can easily measure when a feature is complete.
Hold regular meetings with your crew to discuss quality issues and solutions. Foster open communication to ensure everyone understands the project’s quality goals and can share their ideas and concerns. Developers may offer insight on optimizing tests, while QA engineers can help spot risks early.
Break the development process into smaller cycles or phases, allowing for regular feedback and quick adjustments. Continuously assess your processes to remove inefficiencies, such as unnecessary tasks or duplicate efforts.
Define clear rules and procedures for quality, ensuring everyone knows the standards they need to follow. This includes coding standards, testing protocols, and industry regulations. Regularly audit your processes to ensure compliance and make sure your team is adhering to these standards.
Know that you don’t have to fully overhaul your processes. You can start with small, incremental changes to start seeing some benefits. And if you’re not sure where to begin (it’s all a lot, we understand), you can use a software QA consulting service. The point of this practice is to evaluate how you’re doing things now and look for ways to improve.
Now, the true best practice behind quality. The one surefire way to make your quality framework productive is to have the right people on your team. We’re talking skills, culture, and values of the crew you’re working with. Here, you have two options. Well, three, really.
We know that you’re already thinking that the first variant is the best. After all, your in-house team already knows your processes and standards. Plus, the members are readily available. But, of course, there are some things to consider:
Simply put, there’s an issue of what you have vs what you could have. So, one way or another, you’ll have no other choice but to continue to adapt your team.
On the other side of the spectrum, you have allowing external experts to step in. But here, everything isn’t peachy, either. First, we understand that many companies are hesitant to give up some control over their project. Second, there’s always the possibility of the outside crew not delivering.
The solution to the above concerns is proper research. You should examine your project to understand whether you can benefit from external specialists. And you ought to analyze the available service providers and settle on the best option. That seems like extra work. But remember that outsourced experts free your team from many tasks. So, you can focus on other activities, thus actually saving time and advancing your product faster.
We’d say that the best option is the third one. You can let your team handle some aspects of your product. And allow the outside crew to step in where they’re needed. But which approach is best should be based on your project specifics. We won’t try to push anything on you. Instead, we’ll review the pros and cons of internal and external quality handling. From there, you can decide what’s best.
Implementing this approach means using the resources and people already available. So, everything is taken care of by your in-house team. This close connection has significant benefits:
But there are also some drawbacks you’ll have to address sooner or later:
Overall, while you have full control over what’s going on, you run the risk of resource insufficiency and curbing improvement opportunities.
The second approach hinges on hiring an external team and letting them do the work. So, you partner with a QA company and define what they do and how. Alternatively, you can let them handle all the details on their own. But you still have the final say in everything. In this scenario, you can expect the following perks:
These attention-grabbing advantages come with potential issues, too, however:
There’s one twist you should be aware of. Most of the flaws that come from working with external providers actually come from working with subpar external providers. For example, QA Madness has been covering versatile projects for well over a decade. And we’ve learned every concern a client might have. So, experienced organizations can pretty much eliminate each downside we described.
For instance, we:
Overall, if you want to work with external specialists, conduct a detailed research. Look at the reviews, recommendations, available services, etc. And don’t hesitate to arrange a call with a QA company you’re considering. You can find out a lot by just having a conversation. And you can always just say “no.”
In our humble opinion, quality shouldn’t be separated into different practices. QC, QA, and QM are all equal parts of it. Not means to achieve it. If you only use quality assurance, you miss out on everything quality control and management have to offer and vice versa. That’s why we’re so happy to see QE finally making this sentiment real. It reminds us that quality isn’t about what is built into it. It’s about building quality into what you do.
So, here are some final words of advice. Make quality the core of your project. And let it blossom into an unforgettable product through your team’s skills. Because, frankly, it’s people who are always behind something incredible.
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