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I think there is a difference and, yes, it matters. Please note that the following statements derive from the Rapid Software Testing class I attended with James Bach and Michael Bolton. I don’t want to quote but I support their ideas so that’s why I will post here 🙂
QA in its “common meaning” is Quality Assurance. That’s a term testers should get away from. No tester can assure the quality of the product under test. As far as I can see there are two roles which can assure quality: a developer by writing code and a project manager by e.g. increasing resources, etc.
What a tester can do through testing is providing information which may affect quality decisions. Please see this post:
In a huge shortcut I’d say that: the Quality Assurance includes the testing in its scope – either in scope of one person’s work, or in the scope of two persons from QA team (e.g.Test Manager takes care of all processes within the quality assurance and the tester builds test plans, proejct and perform test cases etc.).
My interpretation is that Quality Assurance covers the processes/procedures put in place to ensure that the quality of the product is as good as it can be. This covers review meetings at every point from scoping to sign-off and should involve all members of the production team (product owners, analysts, devs, testers etc). Testing is just one aspect of Quality Assurance. At each step of the development life-cycle there should be sufficient checks in place to minimise the risk of a problem occurring. If QA is introduced right at the start of the project (ensuring the initial requirement and scoping is clear) then there is less chance of a problem occurring down the line. I’ve worked on projects in the past that have cut corners early on and the poor dev who’s new to the area of software (or even the entire product) has to interpret some very brief notes made quite some time ago; a recipe for disaster especially if the tester isn’t sufficiently familiar with the product to spot gaps in impact analysis.
Thanks for your responses @buschfunk @aleksandra-kornecka and @christina – all really great points! It sounds like testing is definitely part of the QA process and there is a lot more people involved rather than just testers.
@michaelabolton ‘s blog that you shared @buschfunk highlights some great points – have any of you encountered these challenges of trying to influence programmers / managers? And if yes, what have you learned or what steps do you take now to help?
Or do your teams have any particular steps/strategies in the QA process that you find work well for helping you as a tester involved in the QA process?The difference between quality assurance and testing is that quality assurance is about the activities designed to make sure the project is conforming to the expectations of the stakeholders, while test is a process to explore a system to find defects.
ASP.Net Software Development
I think QA and Testing are not the same concepts. QA is the strategy that encompasses Testing but much more and involves a much wider set of stakeholders. While Testing is focused on code quality within a technical arena.
However, they do have the same goal; to ensure the development and delivery of a high-quality product to the customer. Yet, when understood and implemented correctly, they focus on different things and use different methods and techniques to reach that goal. Being aware and observant of these differences enables businesses to create a better understanding of ‘quality across a development team and while improving productivity from a wider set of different skills.
In simple words,
QA controls the testing process and verifies that the software is capable of working under certain conditions. Testing focuses on case studies, implementation, and evaluation. QA means quality assurance and it is common knowledge that quality cannot be “tested” in a product.In summary, QA is a process, while testing is an activity integrated within QC. While the purpose of QA and QC is to have a quality product at the end of bubble shooter, each employ different methodologies and technologies. Other tasks that contribute to quality in addition to testing include groomings, plannings, and code reviews.
<p class=”MsoNormal”>The major difference between QA and testing is that quality assurance is a complete software development life cycle method whereas testing is a part of it. QA is a much wider field or concept. It includes an array of stakeholders, some of whom are a part of testing. Testing is concerned a lot with the coding quality, henceforth restricted to a technical field.</p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”>Quality assurance is an essential step of software development as it is a method to innovate, identify, and include features that enhance the quality of the product before it reaches the potential customers.</p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”>The entire process of QA walks through standard comparison, measurements, feedback, monitoring, implementations and the actual stage of quality control that includes testing. If you hire a QA manager, you will find everything very easily happening. Testing is the final stage of making sure effective implementation of all the bugs while doing quality assurance.</p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”>It makes sure the highest possible product devoid of any type of problem for the target customer. Also, quality testing also makes sure user-friendly specification and validation of the product.</p>
<p class=”MsoNormal”></p><p style=”border: 0px solid #d9d9e3; box-sizing: border-box; –tw-border-spacing-x: 0; –tw-border-spacing-y: 0; –tw-translate-x: 0; –tw-translate-y: 0; –tw-rotate: 0; –tw-skew-x: 0; –tw-skew-y: 0; –tw-scale-x: 1; –tw-scale-y: 1; –tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; –tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; –tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; –tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); –tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; color: #374151; font-family: Söhne, ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, ‘Segoe UI’, Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, ‘Noto Sans’, sans-serif, ‘Helvetica Neue’, Arial, ‘Apple Color Emoji’, ‘Segoe UI Emoji’, ‘Segoe UI Symbol’, ‘Noto Color Emoji’; white-space-collapse: preserve;”><span style=”border: 0px solid #d9d9e3; box-sizing: border-box; –tw-border-spacing-x: 0; –tw-border-spacing-y: 0; –tw-translate-x: 0; –tw-translate-y: 0; –tw-rotate: 0; –tw-skew-x: 0; –tw-skew-y: 0; –tw-scale-x: 1; –tw-scale-y: 1; –tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; –tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; –tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; –tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); –tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; color: var(–tw-prose-bold);”>Quality Assurance (QA) </span>Ensures the overall quality of the software development process. And Involves process definition, audits, standards, and continuous improvement. <span style=”border: 0px solid #d9d9e3; box-sizing: border-box; –tw-border-spacing-x: 0; –tw-border-spacing-y: 0; –tw-translate-x: 0; –tw-translate-y: 0; –tw-rotate: 0; –tw-skew-x: 0; –tw-skew-y: 0; –tw-scale-x: 1; –tw-scale-y: 1; –tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; –tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; –tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; –tw-ring-color: rgba(69,89,164,.5); –tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; –tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 transparent; color: var(–tw-prose-bold);”>Testing </span>Identifies defects in the software. And Involves test planning, case design, execution, and defect reporting. In essence, QA is about improving processes, while testing is about finding and fixing defects in the software.</p>
Yes, there are differences and they can be important. Understanding these differences can enhance critical thinking and decision making in a variety of contexts. Just like in the Slope Game, where overcoming obstacles requires awareness and strategy, recognizing differences helps us effectively tackle challenges in life. It is essential to evaluate what is important in any situation to get better results.
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