quality assurance
Defect prevention process
Quality assurance refers to systematic processes designed to ensure that products or services meet specified standards before reaching customers.
It encompasses testing, inspection, and monitoring throughout production or development rather than just at the end.
In software development, QA teams identify bugs and verify that applications function as intended.
The quality assurance department caught the defect before the product shipped.
Quality assurance is often abbreviated QA and distinguished from quality control, which focuses on identifying defects in finished products.
Proving something accurate
- validationConfirming truth or accuracy
- test caseLawsuit establishing legal precedent
- regressionReturn to former state
- defectInherent imperfection or fault
bug · inspection · examination · unit testing · automation · traceability · smoke testing · sanity check
Attestation of qualification
- accreditationOfficial quality approval
- complianceAdhering to requirements
- specificationsStated requirements and parameters
- best practicesProven effective methods
guidelines · procedures · Six Sigma · GMP · regulatory requirements · industry standards · conformance · audit
Ongoing observation of something
- auditFormal accounts examination
- reviewCritical written assessment
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
- inspectionFormal assessment of condition
checkpoint · gatekeeper · sign-off · approval · spot check · peer review · internal audit · external audit
Consistent trustworthy nature
- consistencyReliable adherence to standards
- repeatabilityCapacity for consistent duplication
- reproducibilityAbility to repeat findings
- stabilityResistance to displacement
robustness · fault-tolerance · durability · integrity · soundness · precision · accuracy · calibration
Incremental ongoing enhancement
- KaizenOngoing incremental enhancement philosophy
- corrective actionSteps to fix identified problems
- preventive actionMeasure to forestall problems
- process improvementEnhancing operational efficiency systematically
feedback loop · lessons learned · nonconformance · deviation · gap analysis · remediation · optimization · waste reduction
Measuring against top performers
- KPIsMeasurable performance benchmarks
- pass ratePercentage achieving threshold
- yieldProduce or relinquish
- rejection rateFrequency of declined submissions
customer satisfaction · measurement · scoring · rating · threshold · tolerance · sampling · trend analysis
verification
Proving something accurate
- validationConfirming truth or accuracy
- test caseLawsuit establishing legal precedent
- regressionReturn to former state
defect · bug · inspection · examination · unit testing · automation · traceability · smoke testing · sanity check · load testing
certification
Attestation of qualification
- accreditationOfficial quality approval
- complianceAdhering to requirements
- specificationsStated requirements and parameters
best practices · guidelines · procedures · Six Sigma · GMP · regulatory requirements · industry standards · conformance · audit · documentation
monitoring
Ongoing observation of something
- auditFormal accounts examination
- reviewCritical written assessment
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
inspection · checkpoint · gatekeeper · sign-off · approval · spot check · peer review · internal audit · external audit
dependability
Consistent trustworthy nature
- consistencyReliable adherence to standards
- repeatabilityCapacity for consistent duplication
- reproducibilityAbility to repeat findings
stability · robustness · fault-tolerance · durability · integrity · soundness · precision · accuracy · calibration · maintainability
continuous improvement
Incremental ongoing enhancement
- KaizenOngoing incremental enhancement philosophy
- corrective actionSteps to fix identified problems
- preventive actionMeasure to forestall problems
process improvement · feedback loop · lessons learned · nonconformance · deviation · gap analysis · remediation · optimization · waste reduction · efficiency
benchmarking
Measuring against top performers
- KPIsMeasurable performance benchmarks
- pass ratePercentage achieving threshold
- yieldProduce or relinquish
rejection rate · customer satisfaction · measurement · scoring · rating · threshold · tolerance · sampling · trend analysis · dashboards
- IT servicesIT services, IT consulting, IT support, help desk, tech support
- oversight bodiesoversight board, ethics committee, oversight committee, ethics board, inspector general
- servicescleaning services, streaming, delivery services, salon, bellhop
- higher educationuniversity, college, degree, diploma, graduate school
- operationsoperation, operations, military operation, joint operation, workflow
- testingtest, unit testing, product testing, examine, check
quality assurancesabotage
Deliberate disruption of operations
negligence · carelessness · sloppiness · recklessness · shoddiness
quality assurancedebugging
Error removal from programs
rework · quality control · troubleshooting · firefighting · remediation
quality, unsure, assured, ensure, insure, qualify, reassure, assurance, qualified