A look Into Misinterpreted Terminologies

Many a times look-alike functional terminologies often get misunderstood or confused. So is the case with Software Qulality Assurance, Quality Control and

Software Testing. Although these terms are closely related but hold different conceptual meanings. All these three activities are required for a software product

to be successful.

As we are well aware of the phrase “Prevention is better than Cure”, So is the role of Quality Assurance (QA) in the process of Software develpoment.

Quality Assurance is the planning to assure the quality of the software product. It includes systematic and sequential set of activites which is to be followed

in order to ensure the well being of the application, monitoring how the development of an activity taking place. The first and foremost objective of Quality

assurance is to ensure that the product meets the client's expectations. With complete focus on the process, it is dedicated for prevention of the defects for

effective and efficient delivery of product.

On the other hand, Quality Control (QC) is a course which evaluates the flaws on the developed product. Its major focus is on the product and its defect

identifiction. QC however checks for the verification of the software product and Quality assurance is for assuring the validation of the product. Assurance is

always the responsiblity of the whole team whereas only testing team is responsible for Quality control.

It aims at identifying and fixing of the defects. It includes all the inspection and testing activities for strict authorization over the product, and also for Software

testing life cycle. It filters the activities as per their behaviour if they matcah the actual and expected behaviour.

Software Testing Howerver, is a branch in Quality Control. Software testing is an act of checking, evaluating the softare product with the intent of finding

defects. Testing requires proper documentation, test cases to work upon. A tester is therfore responsible for getting the bugs fixed. It includes many techniques.

Main basis of classification is Manual & Automation Testing. Manual Testing use the White/Box Testing techniques to detect the bugs in the product, on other

hand Automation testing uses various tools for testing the software product for increased depth of the testing process for those tests that are often missed during

manual testing. It leads to quick testing ultimately reducing the testing time and overcoming untimely delivery issues.

Here I summarize these often confused teminologies: Quality Control, Quality Assurance and software testing are three different acts that hold equal

significance for any software product and hence all of them have their own processes, proceedings and tools. Where QC is focussed for detection of flaws and

testing them in all possible scenarios and getting them fixed, QA is team responsibility to assure the best of product.

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