Unraveling QA, QC, Quality Assistance, and Quality 4.0
I'm sure you've heard it before:
Quality is everyone's responsibility.
You've also heard the terms "quality assurance" and "quality control". Have you heard of "quality assistance" or "Quality 4.0?
What's the difference between all of these terms, especially with quality assurance and quality control, the two oldest terms in the list?
As a designer, how are you supposed to interact with these terms? If quality is everyone's responsibility, then what are you supposed to do for quality assurance and quality control? Are there different ways you're supporting each of these ideas in how you design?
How does quality assistance and Quality 4.0 fit into the design picture?
Let's explore some official definitions, the changes in quality that led to the quality assistance and Quality 4.0 terms and give some context of quality with respect to design.
Quality Glossary
Quality Assurance
All the planned or systematic actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that a product or service will satisfy given needs. [Laman]
Quality Control
The operational techniques and the activities that sustain a quality of product or service that will satisfy given needs; also, the use of such techniques and activities. [Laman]
Quality Assistance
...testing is an empirical investigation, conducted to provide stakeholders with quality information about the product or service under test. Note the emphasis on purpose instead of practices.
Most industrial projects have many stakeholders who have diverse interests and conflicting priorities. The purpose of testing during development is to help those stakeholders understand what they’re getting, in time to correct a weak programming practice or (re)negotiate the design.
...testers are measured by their skill as investigators and communicators and by the tools they can create and use to support their investigations—not by their level of control over the product’s code or design.
[Glass]
Quality 4.0
Quality 4.0 brings together Industry 4.0’s advanced digital technologies with quality excellence to drive substantial performance and effectiveness improvements. [ASQ]
Other definitions
Quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC)
Two terms that have many interpretations because of the multiple definitions for the words “assurance” and “control.” For example, “assurance” can mean the act of giving confidence, the state of being certain or the act of making certain; “control” can mean an evaluation to indicate needed corrective responses, the act of guiding or the state of a process in which the variability is attributable to a constant system of chance causes. (For a detailed discussion on the multiple definitions, see ANSI/ISO/ASQ A3534-2, Statistics—Vocabulary and Symbols—Statistical Quality Control.)
One definition of quality assurance is: all the planned and systematic activities implemented within the quality system that can be demonstrated to provide confidence that a product or service will fulfill requirements for quality.
One definition for quality control is: the operational techniques and activities used to fulfill requirements for quality.
Often, however, “quality assurance” and “quality control” are used interchangeably, referring to the actions performed to ensure the quality of a product, service or process.
[Daniels and ASQ]
Citations:
ASQ. “Quality Glossary - Q | ASQ.” Asq.org, 2019, asq.org/quality-resources/quality-glossary/q.
Daniels, Susan E., Kristen Johnson, and Corinne Johnson. "Quality Glossary." Quality Progress, vol. 35, no. 7, Jul 2002, 2002/07//, pp. 43-61.
Glass, Robert L., et al. "Software Testing and Industry Needs." IEEE Software, vol. 23, no. 4, 2006///Jul/Aug, pp. 55-57. doi:https://doi.org/10.1109/MS.2006.113.
Laman, Scott A. The ASQ Certified Quality Engineer Handbook. 5th ed., ASQ Quality Press, 2022.
Other Resources
Read Dianna’s article, published in CERM Risk Insights:
Deeney, Dianna. “Future of Quality - Dianna Deeney.” CERM Risk Insights, iss. 362, 16 Jan 22.
There are shifts in businesses that are affecting the quality profession, prompting changes for Quality. These shifts include changing business infrastructures and evolving definitions of brand quality. What does this mean for the quality professional, and how can they react?
Borror, Connie M.. "Preface to the First Edition." Certified Quality Engineer Handbook, ASQ Quality Press, 2008, pp. xxiii-xxiv.
Zonnenshain, et. al. "Quality 4.0: The Challenging Future of Quality Engineering." Quality Engineering, Oct. 2020, vol. 32 iss. 4, pp. 614-626.