Quality Assurance | What is Quality Assurance? | Quality Control | PMP Training | Invensis Learning

Summary

In this informative session, Eric from Invensis dives into the world of Quality Assurance (QA), outlining its definition, methodology, best practices, and various industry applications. The video covers the PDCA cycle for structured QA processes, emphasizes the significance of meticulous planning and multi-directional testing strategies, and highlights the importance of continuous learning and improvement in QA. It also touches on software QA, industry-specific QA applications, and the role of external reviews and documentation in enhancing product and service quality.

Takeaways

• 😀 Quality Assurance (QA) is a method to prevent mistakes and defects in products and services, ensuring they meet customer expectations and standards.
• 🔍 QA includes administrative and procedural operations to ensure products, services, or activities meet their objectives and goals, and errors are prevented through systematic processes.
• 🛠️ The PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle, also known as the Deming cycle, is a structured QA methodology to regularly assess and improve organizational procedures.
• 📝 Two key principles of QA are 'fit for purpose' and 'right first time', emphasizing that products should meet their intended use and be free of errors.
• 🔑 Quality Assurance includes managing the quality of raw materials, assemblies, products, components, and related services, with a focus on consistent performance.
• 🌟 Importance of QA lies in developing high-quality products that earn customer confidence and loyalty, and in preventing product faults before they occur.
• 📈 Best practices for QA include meticulous planning, accountability, multi-directional testing strategies, external quality reviews, thorough documentation, and maintaining a healthy team atmosphere.
• 🔄 Methods of QA include failure testing, statistical process control, total quality management, and adherence to models and standards such as ISO 17025.
• 💊 In the medical industry, QA is critical for ensuring equipment and service standards, especially during the development of new medications and equipment.
• 🚀 The aerospace industry uses 'product assurance', emphasizing the customer's perspective and the importance of QA in preventing disastrous effects of product failure.
• 💻 Software Quality Assurance (SQA) focuses on identifying trends and enhancing development processes to prevent problems and bugs in software development.

Q & A

What is the primary focus of quality assurance (QA)?

Quality assurance focuses on preventing mistakes and defects in manufactured products and ensuring there are no problems while delivering products or services to customers.

What are the two main principles of quality assurance?

The two main principles of quality assurance are 'fit for purpose,' meaning the product should fit its intended purpose, and 'right first time,' meaning eliminating all mistakes.

What does quality assurance include?

Quality assurance includes the management of the quality of raw materials, different assemblies, products and components, and services related to production, management, production, and inspection processes.

What is the PDCA cycle in quality assurance methodology?

The PDCA cycle, also known as the Deming cycle, consists of four phases: Plan, Do, Check, and Act. These stages are done to guarantee that the organization's procedures are assessed and improved regularly.

What are some best practices for quality assurance?

Best practices for quality assurance include proper planning, accountability, employing a multi-directional testing strategy, conducting external quality reviews, maintaining thorough documentation, fostering a healthy team atmosphere, addressing minor errors, and continuous learning and improvisation.

What are the four primary methods used in quality assurance?

The four primary methods used in quality assurance are failure testing, statistical process control, total quality management, and models and standards.

How does failure testing contribute to quality assurance?

Failure testing involves repeatedly testing a product to see if it breaks or fails under various conditions such as heat, pressure, or high usage, helping to identify potential issues before the product reaches customers.

What is statistical process control in quality assurance?

Statistical process control is a methodology that uses statistical techniques to monitor and control a process or production method, helping to discover and solve internal system problems.

What role does total quality management play in quality assurance?

Total quality management is a strategy of continuous improvement that relies on quantitative approaches to assist product planning and performance assessments, ensuring the quality of the product through controlled and sustainable processes.

How is quality assurance utilized in the medical industry?

In the medical industry, quality assurance is critical for identifying standards for medical equipment and services. It ensures that equipment such as x-ray machines and diagnostic radiology meet specific criteria, and it is especially useful during the development and launch of new medications and medical equipment.

Why is quality assurance important in the aerospace industry?

Quality assurance, or product assurance, is crucial in the aerospace industry because a single failure can have disastrous effects on human life, the environment, and missions. It ensures the highest standards of quality and reliability in aerospace products and systems.

What is the significance of software quality assurance (SQA)?

Software quality assurance is important for systematically identifying trends and taking steps to enhance development processes, finding and correcting code errors, and preventing problems before they occur, ultimately saving time and money during development.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Introduction to Quality Assurance

The video script begins with an introduction to Quality Assurance (QA) by Eric from Invensis. It outlines the agenda, which includes a brief introduction to QA, its methodology, best practices, methods used, and its application across various industries. Eric emphasizes the importance of watching the entire video and encourages viewers to subscribe to the channel. The introduction to QA explains it as a method for preventing mistakes and defects in products and services, ensuring they meet customer expectations and standards. It also distinguishes between QA and Quality Control, highlighting the principles of 'fit for purpose' and 'right first time.'

05:00

📚 Best Practices in Quality Assurance

This section delves into the best practices for Quality Assurance. It starts with the necessity of meticulous planning and preparation, including a detailed test plan and clear understanding of project objectives. The importance of accountability within the QA team is stressed, along with the establishment of SMART goals. The script advises employing a multi-directional testing strategy to uncover various issues and suggests conducting external quality reviews for a fresh perspective. Maintaining thorough documentation is highlighted as crucial for tracking issues and aiding in faster resolution. The paragraph also emphasizes the significance of a healthy team atmosphere, regular retrospectives, and the importance of recognizing minor errors as potential indicators of larger issues. Lastly, the need for continuous learning and improvisation in the ever-evolving IT landscape is underscored.

10:02

🔍 Exploring Quality Assurance Methods

The script moves on to discuss various methods utilized in Quality Assurance. It covers failure testing, which involves subjecting a product to stress to identify potential failures. Statistical Process Control is introduced as a method for monitoring and controlling production processes using statistical techniques. Total Quality Management is presented as a strategy for continuous improvement, relying on data and analysis. The script also touches on models and standards, such as ISO 17025, which sets criteria for testing and calibration competence. The importance of these methods in ensuring product and service quality is emphasized, along with the adaptability required to keep up with technological advancements.

15:03

🛠️ Quality Assurance in Different Industries

The final section of the script examines how Quality Assurance is applied across different industries. It highlights the medical industry's reliance on QA for ensuring equipment and service standards, especially during the development of new medications and equipment. The aerospace industry's use of Product Assurance, which includes QA as a core responsibility, is discussed, emphasizing its focus on customer perspective and the avoidance of disastrous effects from product failures. The script also touches on software development, where Software Quality Assurance plays a critical role in identifying and correcting code errors. The use of enterprise quality management software and the involvement of consultants and contractors in implementing new quality practices are also mentioned, showcasing the broad application of QA methodologies in various sectors.

Keywords

💡Quality Assurance (QA)

Quality Assurance, often abbreviated as QA, is a systematic process of ensuring that products or services meet the required standards of quality. In the context of the video, QA is crucial for preventing mistakes and defects in manufactured products and services. It involves administrative and procedural operations to ensure that objectives and goals are met, and errors are prevented through systematic measurement, comparison to a standard, process monitoring, and feedback. The script mentions that QA includes managing the quality of raw materials, assemblies, products, components, and related services.

💡Methodology

In the video, methodology refers to the structured approach or system used to carry out tasks or processes. Specifically, it discusses the PDCA cycle, also known as the Deming cycle, which includes the phases of Plan, Do, Check, and Act. This cycle is used in Quality Assurance to regularly assess and improve organizational procedures, ensuring continuous improvement and adherence to quality standards.

💡Best Practices

Best practices are the most effective methods or techniques that have been empirically proven to deliver the best results. The video outlines several best practices for Quality Assurance, such as meticulous preparation, accountability, employing a multi-directional testing strategy, conducting external quality reviews, maintaining thorough documentation, fostering a healthy team atmosphere, noticing minor errors, and continuous learning and improvisation. These practices are essential for maintaining high-quality standards in any project or product development.

💡Fit for Purpose

The term 'fit for purpose' is one of the two principles of Quality Assurance mentioned in the script. It implies that a product should be suitable for the intended purpose for which it is designed or manufactured. This principle ensures that the product meets the user's needs and expectations, which is a fundamental aspect of delivering quality products or services.

💡Right First Time

'Right First Time' is the second principle of Quality Assurance discussed in the video. It emphasizes the importance of eliminating mistakes and getting things correct from the outset. This principle is crucial in QA as it aims to prevent defects and reduce the need for rework, thereby improving efficiency and customer satisfaction.

💡PDCA Cycle

The PDCA Cycle, also known as the Deming Cycle, is a continuous improvement model used in Quality Assurance. The acronym stands for Plan, Do, Check, Act, which are the four stages of the cycle. The video script explains that these stages are essential for ensuring that an organization's processes are regularly assessed and improved to maintain quality.

💡Statistical Process Control (SPC)

Statistical Process Control, or SPC, is a methodology based on statistical techniques used to control and monitor a process or production method. As mentioned in the script, SPC was developed by Walter Shewhart and is used to identify problems and issues within a system, helping to find necessary solutions for production issues and ensuring quality.

💡Total Quality Management (TQM)

Total Quality Management, or TQM, is a strategy for continuous improvement that relies on quantitative approaches. The video script describes TQM as a method that uses facts, data, and analysis to assist in product planning and performance assessments. It is a comprehensive management approach that aims to improve the quality of products and services through better process management.

💡ISO 17025

ISO 17025 is an international standard that specifies the general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. In the video, it is mentioned as a standard that outlines what a laboratory must achieve to be accredited, emphasizing the importance of standardized quality management systems in various industries, including research and development.

💡Software Quality Assurance (SQA)

Software Quality Assurance, or SQA, is the process of identifying trends and taking necessary steps to improve development processes in software development. The script explains that SQA is crucial for developers to prevent problems before they occur, thereby saving time and money. It involves finding and correcting code errors that might have unforeseen consequences and is an essential part of ensuring the quality of software products.

💡Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)

Capability Maturity Model Integration, or CMMI, is a performance improvement framework that is mentioned in the context of Software Quality Assurance in the script. It ranks the maturity levels of various areas within a company and suggests possibilities for improvement. CMMI is used to ensure that software development processes are standardized and continuously improved to meet quality standards.

Highlights

Introduction to quality assurance and its importance in preventing mistakes and delivering products or services to customers.

Quality assurance refers to administrative and procedural operations ensuring product or service objectives are met.

The two principles of quality assurance: 'fit for purpose' and 'right first time'.

Quality assurance includes management of quality for raw materials, assemblies, products, components, and related services.

The role of quality assurance in ensuring products work consistently and the contrast with engineering's role to make it work initially.

Importance of quality assurance in developing goods and services that meet consumer demands and expectations.

The PDCA cycle, also known as the Deming cycle, as a structured methodology for quality assurance.

Best practices for quality assurance, including meticulous preparation and a proper plan for software testing.

The significance of accountability in quality assurance and the use of SMART goals for objectives.

Employing a multi-directional testing strategy to find various sorts of issues in software development.

Conducting external quality reviews to gain a second perspective and improve product quality.

The necessity of maintaining thorough documentation for all issues in the quality assurance process.

Maintaining a healthy atmosphere within the team as a best practice for quality assurance.

The importance of noticing even minor errors as they may evolve into major quality issues.

The necessity of continuous learning and improvisation in the field of quality assurance.

Different methods of quality assurance, including failure testing, statistical process control, and total quality management.

ISO 17025 as an international standard specifying testing and calibration competence standards.

Software quality assurance as a process of identifying trends and enhancing development processes.

Quality assurance in various industries, including medical, aerospace, and software development.

The use of enterprise quality management software to address challenges like supply chain disaggregation and regulatory compliance.

Consultants and contractors often use quality assurance methods such as CMMI, Six Sigma, and other quality management techniques.

Transcripts

[Music]

hey guys this is eric from invensis and

i welcome you to our youtube channel

in today's session we will discuss

quality assurance in detail

so do watch this video till the very end

now before we get started i would like

to address the agenda for today's

session

we will start our session with a brief

introduction to quality assurance

then understand quality assurance

methodology

moving on we will talk about some of the

best practices for quality assurance and

then discuss some methods used for

quality assurance

finally we will conclude the session

with the final topic which is quality

assurance used by various industries

but before that if you like this video

do subscribe to our youtube channel

also to learn more about project

management and its practices check out

invensys learning's project management

certification training on prince2

project management fundamentals po and

msb all of the necessary information cap

is given in the description box below

now starting with our first topic what

is quality assurance

quality assurance or qa is a method of

preventing mistakes and defects in the

manufactured products and assuring that

there are no problems while delivering

products or services to customers

now quality assurance refers to the

administrative and procedural operations

carried out in a quality system to

ensure that a products services or the

activities objectives and goals are met

also ensuring errors are prevented by

systematic measurement comparison to a

standard process monitoring and a

related feedback loop

the quality assurance component focuses

on ensuring that quality criteria are

met

on the other hand quality control is

concerned with the output of the process

next talking about the two principles of

quality assurance

fit for purpose which means the product

should fit the intended purpose and

right first time which means eliminating

all the mistakes are two quality

assurance principles

so now the question here is what does

quality assurance include

quality assurance includes the

management of the quality of raw

materials the different assemblies

products and components the services

related to production

management production and inspection

processes

so the two ideas in building good

products are

first the engineer has to make it work

once while quality assurances task is to

make it work all of the time

now defining what a suitable product or

service quality means has traditionally

been a more difficult process

consequently it has been determined in a

variety of ways

firstly ranging from the subjective

user-based approach which includes the

various weights that an individual

usually attaches to quality

characteristics next to the value-based

approach which finds consumers linking

quality to price and making overall

quality conclusions based on such a

relationship

now talking about the importance of

quality assurance it assists a company

in developing goods and services that

fulfill consumers demands expectations

and standards

it results in a high quality product

that earns customers confidence and

loyalty in addition a quality assurance

program's rules and procedures assist in

avoiding product faults before they

occur

so this was just a brief introduction to

quality assurance

now let us move on to our next topic and

talk about quality assurance methodology

quality assurance methodology structured

cycle known as the pdca cycle also often

known as the deming cycle

now the phases of this cycle are plan do

check act

these stages are done to guarantee that

the organization's procedures are

assessed and improved regularly let's

look into the above qa process steps in

detail

plan first the organization should plan

and create process related objectives

and the process is necessary to achieve

a high quality final result

do second process development and

testing and then also doing

modifications to

processes next check processes are

monitored modified and checked to see if

they achieve the intended goals

then act a quality assurance tester

should take the steps necessary to

enhance the procedures

so this was about quality assurance

methodology now

so let us move on to our next topic and

discuss the best practices for quality

assurance

first is a proper plan

now you must plan every minute detail of

your project if you truly want it to

succeed and you should also include

software testing in the plan

now one of the most important quality

assurance testing best practices is

meticulous preparation

prepare a test plan that details what

will be tested who will be testing it

what resources will be required for the

testing when the deadline will be met

what all the acceptance criteria will be

and next what the current status will be

also be certain that all members of the

qa team are aware of their roles that

they are invited to all important

all-team meetings and that they have

access to all necessary resources

testing schedules should coincide with

project deadlines and quality assurance

professionals should fully understand

project objectives

the second is any procedure that

includes a group of people needs

accountability to succeed

you must develop precise and well-stated

objectives and goals to attain the

responsibility

smart quality assurance goals and

objectives can be implemented

specified measurable achievable relevant

and time-bound objectives are known as

smart goals

they are specific quantifiable

attainable relevant and time-bound goals

these objectives might be professional

that is linked to software testing or

personal that is unrelated to software

testing but equally essential to the

team

the third is employ a multi-directional

testing strategy

one of the most obvious but sometimes

overlooked quality assurance techniques

is to employ a variety of qa types

don't limit your testing to just one or

two categories of testing

you have to perform several testing

methods to find various sorts of issues

quickly

encourage your developers to build

automated unit tests to evaluate the

quality of their code and correct any

issues that come to light during the

testing and then send it to qa to be

tested

after that request the qa team to do the

test and either confirm that the code is

ready to be tested or returned to the

developers for retesting

the fourth is conduct external quality

reviews

getting a second perspective is very

beneficial in software development

you can invite an external specialist to

analyze your product and provide a

technical evaluation as a project

manager product owner team lead or

business owner

they should include a basic summary and

ideas for the team to consider to

enhance their performance

while such a step is primarily intended

for software developers it will greatly

aid qas

after all the goal of both developers

and testers is to provide a high quality

product

however the tone of this quality review

should be taken into account

you must undoubtedly display the report

to the team but make sure it is written

in a polite and constructive tone

the purpose of this evaluation is to

motivate the team to improve their work

habits not to discourage them from

collaborating with you

and the fifth is maintain thorough

documentation

all issues should be recorded and

reported to ensure that the developers

do not miss any issues

documentation is also useful in later

phases of the project

for example if a previously detected and

addressed issue reappears this knowledge

will enable developers to fix it faster

this time because they will know what to

do

additionally documentation helps testers

demonstrate that they carry out their

responsibilities thoroughly

however high-quality documentation is

more essential than mere documentation

if testers ambiguously report issues

developers and project managers will

spend more time attempting to understand

the problem rather than addressing it

testers must use media files such as

screenshots or whatever best shows the

fault to gain clarity

it may be simpler for a developer to

spot the fault just by looking at the

image than reading through a long

confusing description

sixth is maintain a healthy atmosphere

within the team

this is the most obvious and neglected

point among other quality assurance best

practices

fundamentally a pleasant and healthy

environment is essential for project

success retrospectives are another

crucial measure that can help you

maintain team balance

conduct weekly or monthly retrospectives

and allow the team to express their

issues

avoiding this step leads to significant

and unsolvable difficulties so voicing

concerns should be practiced as soon as

they arise finally remember to

appreciate your team members for their

good job

the seventh best practice is to notice

even minor errors

minor errors are still errors

while it may be simpler to dismiss minor

issues experienced developers do not do

so

they realize that a small error might

evolve into a major quality issue in the

future

until you study an issue you don't know

the specific causes behind it

sometimes the error might be an

indication of something more serious

so when these errors appear you can

either repair the issue as quickly as

possible or assign it to the technical

debt

and the eight best practices are to keep

learning and improvising

the quality assurance area like the rest

of the it business is always developing

we all know that technology is evolving

very quickly

the technology techniques and processes

vary and change so the information

gained five years earlier may be of

little use today

so

it is very important to keep learning

and knowing about the latest

technologies and processes

so these were some of the best practices

for quality assurance

now let us move on to our next topic and

talk about the different methods in

which quality assurance is carried out

quality assurance utilizes one of the

following methods

failure testing statistical process

control

total quality management models and

standards

there are many other methods but we will

be primarily talking about these four

methods in today's session

now let us talk about these methods one

by one

first is failure testing which is the

process of repeatedly testing a product

to see if it breaks or fails

this might include testing the product

under heat pressure or vibration if it

is a physical product that has to endure

stress

failure testing for software products

may entail putting the software under

high usage or load situations

the second is statistical process

control which is a methodology created

by walter shewhart at western electric

company and bell telephone laboratories

in the 1920s and 1930s

it is based on using statistical

techniques to control a process or

production method

this methodology can help monitor the

process behavior then discover any

problems and issues in internal systems

and find the necessary solutions for

production issues

next is total quality management which

is a strategy of continuous improvement

that uses quantitative approaches

now to assist product planning and

performance assessments total quality

management depends on facts data and

analysis

the quality of a product is determined

by the quality of the elements that make

it up some of which are sustainable and

well controlled while others are not

total quality management is addressed by

the processes handled using quality

assurance

the product's quality cannot be

guaranteed if the specification does not

represent the genuine quality

requirements for example the operating

environment safety reliability and

maintainability specifications

next are models and standards

iso

17025 is an international standard that

specifies the general testing and

calibration competence standards

there are 15 technical criteria and 10

management needs

these requirements spell out what a

laboratory must accomplish to be

accredited

the management system refers to the

framework of an organization's processes

or activities for transforming resources

into a product or service that fulfills

the organization's goals such as

achieving consumer quality criteria

complying with regulations or meeting

environmental goals

next let us talk about software quality

assurance

software quality assurance is the

process of methodically identifying

trends and taking the steps necessary to

enhance development processes

finding and correcting code errors that

might have unforeseen repercussions

it is possible to repair one item while

working on other features and functions

simultaneously

sqa has become more crucial for

developers to prevent problems before

they occur thereby saving time and money

during development

however even with sqa protocols in place

a software update might damage other

features and result in defects which are

usually referred to as bugs

there have been a variety of sqa

approaches

for example capability maturity model

integration or cmmi is a performance

improvement focused sqa model

cmmi ranks the maturity levels of

various areas within a company and

suggest possibilities for improvement

so these were some of the quality

assurance methods

now let us move on to our next topic and

talk about the quality assurance used by

industries

first is the medical industry in the

medical profession quality assurance is

critical since it helps identify medical

equipment and service standards

hospitals and laboratories use external

agencies to guarantee that equipment

such as x-ray machines diagnostic

radiology and herb meet certain criteria

qa is especially useful during the

development and launch of new

medications and medical equipment

through its members and regulatory

organizations the research quality

association supports and promotes the

quality of research in the life sciences

aerospace industry

product assurance or pa is a phrase that

is commonly used instead of quality

assurance and is one of the three core

project responsibilities along with

project management and engineering

now one aspect of product assurance is

quality assurance

product assurance is especially crucial

since a single failure might have

disastrous effects on human life the

environment a gadget or a mission

it has organizational budgetary and

product development independence which

means it reports solely to the highest

levels of management has its own budget

and does not use labor to assist in

creating a product

product assurance is on par with project

management except it emphasizes the

customer's perspective

software development or software testing

monitoring the software engineering

processes and procedures used to assure

quality is referred to as software

quality assurance

for this many approaches or frameworks

are used such as guaranteeing adherence

to one or more standards such as iso

25010 which replaces iso iec 9126

or process models like cmmi or spice

now enterprise quality management

software is also used to address

challenges like supply chain

disaggregation and assure regulatory

compliance

using contractors or consultants

when adopting new quality practices and

processes consultants and contractors

usually use quality assurance especially

when the necessary skills experience and

resources are not available inside the

business

now for quality assurance quality

management systems auditing and

procedural documentation writing are

frequently used by consultants and

contractors as our cmmi six sigma

measurement systems analysis quality

function deployment failure mode and

effects analysis and advanced product

quality planning

so this was about the quality assurance

used in different industries

and with this we have come to an end of

this video

i hope it was helpful

thank you