Quality - QA and QC (1 of 2)

Dear Colleagues,

Here I am with another article for you. Seems I just cannot resist writing ??. Good / Bad, you have to let me know.

I have received couple of queries from LinkedIn colleagues and the start-up I talked about in my last blog, to write on “Quality” in “Learning and Development”.

Before you wonder what role Quality has to play in Learning and Development, I must clarify that “Quality”, as you are aware, is the backbone for success of any organisation. Similarly, the success of the Learning and Development Program in the organisation also rests on the Quality of courses and trainings it churns.

Irrespective of the size, curriculum “all trainings must ‘exceed or at least meet’ the Quality benchmark” that the organization has set for itself. If it fails in doing it, it is a waste of:

• Organization’s valuable resources; and
• Employees’ invaluable time.

This Blog will be in two (2) parts. This being the first one, is to explain, in general, what is Quality Assurance (QA) and what is Quality Control (QC). The second (2) one, that is yet to come, will be on importance of both QA and QC in Learning and Development.

Some of us get confused between these two terms and end-up using them interchangeably. This, I am afraid, is not correct.

The only similarity between the two Both QA and QC are the two important components of the Quality Management process. Though closely related, they have definite and distinct roles and occur at different stages of the Product or Service lifecycle.

Quality Assurance (QA):

• QA refers to the activities and processes implemented to ensure that the project or product is being developed and delivered according to predetermined quality standards.
• Objective of QA is to prevent defects or issues from occurring in the first place.
• QA focuses on planning, documentation, and process implementation to ensure adherence to quality throughout the entire project lifecycle.

QA activities include:

????? Defining quality standards, metrics, and procedures.

????? Developing and implementing quality management systems.

????? Conducting quality audits and reviews.

????? Setting up quality control processes.

????? Establishing and enforcing quality assurance policies.

QA is a proactive approach. It aims to prevent quality issues and defects by putting processes and systems in place to ensure adherence to standards and best practices.

Quality Control (QC):

• QC involves the actual inspection and testing of the products or services to identify defects or deviations from quality standards.
• The objective of QC is to detect and eliminate defects before the end product or service is delivered to the customer.
• It is reactive as its focused on identifying and correcting issues after they occur.

QC activities include:

????? Conducting inspections, tests, and measurements on the product or service.

????? Comparing the results against predefined quality standards.

????? Identifying defects or non-conformities.

????? Taking corrective actions to address the identified issues.

????? Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the corrective actions.

QC ensures that the end product or service passes the required quality standards by identifying and rectifying deviations or defects that occur during the production / development process.

What Comes First:

I am sure, by now you have deduced that Quality Assurance, being the Process, comes before Quality Control, the Activity.

To Summarize:

Objective of Quality Assurance is to prevent quality issues through process implementation and adherence, whereas objective of Quality Control is to identify and correct defects through inspections and tests.

Any organisation to succeed must have both QA and QC in place to ensure the delivery of high-quality products or services to customers.

Quality Triangle (for Organisations):

A word of caution for organization. “Quality”, though at the heart of any organisation, is a healthy mix of following two critical factors:

i)????????Time; and

ii)??????Cost

This combination is also known as “Quality Triangle”.

Therefore, an optimal trade-off between Time and Cost is required when a decision is being made to establish the QA processes and the related QC activities.

In my coming blog I will explain the role of QA and QC in Learning and Development and how a healthy mix of the two ensures meeting the objectives of both, the Organization and its Training and Development department.

Happy Reading!!

Please do not forget to share your comments and inputs. They are invaluable for me.