The difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Innovation in our companies is critical. To survive and even thrive in today’s competitive and, at times, combative market, every company needs to have their point of difference; to establish this, innovation needs to take place, and a product needs to be developed to help you stand out from the crowd. Finally, the winners have a high-quality product with a point of difference that effectively addresses the customers’ needs.

This is nothing new.

But sometimes, in a rush to get there first, we can let the quality side slip, where Quality Assurance and Quality Control come into their own.

But what are they?

The terms are often used interchangeably. In many cases, the roles required can be enacted by the same personnel, but there are some key differences.

First, basic definitions:

What is Quality Assurance?

Quality Assurance, also known as QA Testing, is defined as ensuring that an organisation provides the best possible product or service to customers.

What is Quality Control?

Quality Control is a systematic set of processes used to ensure the quality of products or services. The primary purpose of the quality control process is to ensure that the product meets the actual requirements by testing and reviewing its functionality (i.e., it does what it says on the box). Quality control is popularly abbreviated as QC.

So what are the differences, and why are they important?

Quality Assurance aims to avoid defects, whereas Quality control aims at identifying and fixing the flaws.
Quality Assurance ensures that the quality requested will be achieved by setting up systems before production. In contrast, Quality Control is a procedure that focuses on fulfilling the quality demanded by methods such as random testing and by fixing any issues that may develop.
Quality Assurance is done primarily in the innovation and product development stages. In contrast, Quality Control is done during the production cycle.
Quality Assurance is a proactive measure, whereas Quality Control is both a proactive and a reactive measure.
Quality Assurance is performed before Quality Control.