When performing quality management, what is the difference between quality assurance and quality control?

• A. Quality Assurance focuses on improving processes to prevent defects; Quality Control focuses on identifying defects in the actual products or deliverables.
• B. Quality Assurance detects defects in finished products; Quality Control prevents defects in processes.
• C. QA and QC both focus on product defects after delivery.
• D. QA is about cost control; QC is about schedule.

Answer: (A)

Quality management differentiates between preventing problems and catching them after they occur. Quality assurance is about preventing defects by improving the way work is done. It focuses on the processes, standards, and activities that shape how a product is created—defining workflows, establishing quality criteria, providing training, and conducting process audits to ensure things are done correctly from the start.

Quality control, on the other hand, is about detecting defects in the actual product or deliverable. It involves testing, inspections, reviews, and acceptance checks to verify that the finished work meets the requirements and specifications.

So, in practice, QA asks, “How can we do this right the first time by refining our processes?” while QC asks, “Is this product free of defects and compliant with requirements?” The correct view captures this prevention-versus-detection distinction. The other descriptions mix up where the focus lies or suggest that defects are only found after delivery, which isn’t how QA and QC are intended to function.