Quality Control (QC)
DE: Qualitaetskontrolle (QC)
Monitoring and recording results to assess whether deliverables meet quality standards.
Detailed Explanation
Quality Control is the process of monitoring and recording results of executing quality management activities to assess performance and ensure project outputs are complete, correct, and meet customer expectations. QC is reactive — it inspects deliverables to find and fix defects.
QC uses tools like checklists, inspections, testing, statistical sampling, and control charts. The outputs of QC include verified deliverables (ready for formal acceptance), quality reports, and change requests for defect repairs.
While QA focuses on process improvement to prevent defects, QC focuses on product inspection to detect defects. Both are necessary. Without QC, defects reach the customer. Without QA, the same types of defects keep occurring because the root cause (process) is never addressed.
Key Points
- Reactive — inspects deliverables to detect defects
- Product-oriented (vs. QA which is process-oriented)
- Uses testing, inspections, checklists, statistical sampling
- Output: verified deliverables, quality reports, defect repair requests
- Ensures deliverables meet acceptance criteria
- Complements QA: QC detects, QA prevents
Practical Example
A QC team tests a mobile banking app against 200 test cases covering functionality, performance, and security. They find 15 defects: 3 critical (security vulnerabilities), 7 major (broken flows), 5 minor (UI issues). Critical and major defects must be fixed before release. The QC report is shared with the PM and Product Owner for prioritization.
Tips for Learning and Applying
Test against acceptance criteria, not just general quality expectations
Automate repetitive QC tests for efficiency and consistency
Track defect trends to feed QA improvement initiatives
Do not skip QC under schedule pressure — it always costs more later
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