Quality Assurance vs. Quality Control

Key Differences


Comparison Chart
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Common Example

What is Quality Assurance?
Quality Assurance is the term that refers towards the set of techniques that are used for ensuring the quality of the process of production. Often quality assurance is mixed up with quality control because both these terms co-relate with each other. Quality assurance refers towards the process of production. It is used for preventing the mistakes and errors during the process of production of any product. It is the initial testing process of preventing the mistakes and errors before they are committed. That’s why this phenomenon is process oriented because it deals with prevention of errors in the production process before a product is completely developed and produced. For example whenever a software is started to develop, while the process of developing the measures and checks used for assuring the quality of the software and preventing the errors and bugs, all these phenomena is categorized under quality assurance. In the organizations, usually, quality assurance is regarded as a managerial tool. It is the responsibility of the manager or supervisor to keep on checking the production process so that errors and mistakes from it can be prevented as early as possible.
What is Quality Control?
Quality Control is the term that is used for the tools and set of specified checking techniques that refer towards the quality assurance of the product after production. Once a product has been developed, so it is checked and tested again and again using different tools before launching it in the market for sale. It is totally different from quality assurance and does not have any concern with the production process and manufacturing. Once the product is developed, the phenomena of identifying the errors and mistakes in the product are termed as quality control. For example, whenever a software is developed, it is tested again and again before launching or giving it to the customer for use, this phenomenon of testing and identifying the bugs from the software falls into the category of quality control. In organization quality control is referred as corrective or post testing tool. It is used by the staff and special team of workers who are specifically hired for testing and validation of the product after its development.