Discussions about Quality (upper case “Q”) can be very diverse, sometimes ethereal and quite arguable, as the previous list of Quality definitions indicates.

Foremost, It’s important to distinguish between two commonly applied manifestations of the term Quality as an activity or function within the PD business. Then we’ll see how these ‘drill-down’ to tangible, technical concepts.

Quality Assurance (QA) prescribes what needs to be done to demonstrate that products and applicable processes will satisfy all product stakeholders’ demands, and needs. Examples are (1) the implementation of a Quality Management System (ISO 9005-2000) and (2) preventative activities such as Six-Sigma. These corporate stipulations, developed and agreed to by pertinent groups within the organization, guide the organizational structure, planning, processes, procedures, standards (ethical and technical), review and training support for implementing a Quality system.

Quality Control (QC) provides direction for testing and observation techniques, and the inspection and coordination of activities to ensure that products meet defined standards for content, performance, use, accuracy and precision. They also provide processes for maintaining standards (prescribed by the QA function), for regulating performance and calibration procedures and to ensure that those products, which emerge from the process, meet the standards.

More simply, QA defines the Quality philosophy and guidelines for a company and it’s products and processes, whereas QC implements measurement and analysis methodologies to ensure products and processes meet the guidelines. A more in-depth discussion of these Quality activities is left to the reader: http://www.asq.org/, http://www.iso.org/iso/management_standards.htm.

In order to bring this discussion to a level that allows product design, implementation, production, support and validation of product claims by Techies we need to move into the more codified realm of Quality Engineering, which helps to establish the claims and how they are to be validated.