Quality Assurance (QA)

Quality Assurance (QA) refers to the overall process of ensuring the quality of software products and services. QA involves designing and implementing systematic methods and processes to prevent defects and problems in software products before they are released.

The main goals of QA are to identify defects early in the development lifecycle, ensure software meets requirements and specifications, and give stakeholders confidence the product will work as expected. QA techniques include reviews, testing, audits, and process analysis. For example, QA testers will methodically test software builds and report any bugs or issues found. Test cases are designed to validate intended functionality and uncover edge cases. QA audits may examine development processes and documentation to find areas for improvement. The overarching aim is to build quality into software from the start rather than relying solely on final testing. Effective QA requires collaboration between developers, testers and other roles to embed quality practices throughout the software delivery lifecycle.