What is quality assurance (QA)?

Quality assurance is part of the ISO 9000 set of international quality management standards that help companies meet compliance requirements, satisfy customers, and continuously improve processes and procedures.

The QA role looks at the processes and procedures during a product’s development or manufacturing to identify and address possible problems before they happen. The idea is to find ways to improve processes and procedures in an effort to prevent defects, bugs, and other problems from being introduced into your products. The more you prevent errors, the happier your customers will be.

QA can be applied to everything from manufacturing to construction to software development and to organizations of any size.

What do quality assurance professionals do?

People working in QA are responsible for planning and implementing the processes, procedures, and best practices that your employees need to follow when developing your products. The QA team also defines how and when to monitor and audit processes to ensure that development runs smoothly, problems are fixed quickly, and that improvements and adjustments are made as needed.

VEOKE QA TEAMS WILL WORK NEXT 9 STEPS:

Plan, develop, and implement quality assurance policies, processes, and procedures.

Document and update SOPs and best practices.

Audit processes and procedures to make sure that regulations and standards are met.

Monitor current processes to look for ways to make improvements.

Train production and engineering teams to ensure that established processes and procedures are followed.

Perform root cause analysis and implement solutions that address problems found in current processes and procedures.

Inspect raw materials used in manufacturing.

Collect and evaluate feedback from customers.

Ensure that your documented processes comply with industry standards and regulations.

What is quality control (QC)?

Quality control is also part of the ISO 9000 set of quality standards. The QC role looks for defects and bugs after the product is built.

QC is used in software development to identify bugs or features that don’t work as planned. In other industries such as manufacturing and construction, QC is used to inspect products to make sure there are no blemishes, weak spots, defects, missing parts, etc.

What do quality control professionals do?

A QC professional inspects or tests products to ensure that they function as expected, that there are no defects that could cause injury, and that the products are ready to be released to the market.

VEOKE QC TEAMS WILL WORK NEXT 11 STEPS:

Evaluate and recommend testing software.

Set up automated testing to make sure that the products measure up to established requirements and expectations.

Look for defects, blemishes, or errors that could damage customer trust in your products.

Make sure that the final product is in compliance with company standards and federal and state regulations.

Write and maintain testing and inspection reports, noting any deviations from established standards and expectations.

Identify and document bugs and defects that need to be fixed before a product can be released.

Identify and document bugs and defects that can be fixed after the product has shipped.

Test documented assembly and installation instructions to ensure that customers can safely assemble products as described.

Work with QA professionals to help identify areas that could use improvement.

Evaluate customer feedback and complaints, focusing on finding and recommending solutions that will make them happy.

Ensure that only high-quality products are released to market.

Why is QC important?

There are a lot of companies making products that are similar to yours. It is important that you establish good QC practices because consistently releasing high-quality products is a good way to differentiate your products from others.

Releasing products that are easy to use, work as advertised, meet expectations, and require little or no post-sale support, builds trust and brand loyalty. When you have a happy, loyal customer base, they will likely purchase new products from you based on positive past experiences. And they might encourage friends and family to give your products a try as well.