QA or Quality Assurance is all about developing and implementing solutions with a specific purpose, avoiding the dreaded "OH SHIT, OH CRAP, OH GOD' situation/s but Quality Assurance as commonly perceived by the majority of nitwits is not just about Testing. Yes i agree, testing is a big nay huge part of QA but Quality Assurance in no way can be encapsulated in a nutshell called testing. There are many other factors that contribute just as much as testing towards the successful development of a commercial product that passes the benchmark engraved in stone by the Organization, the standards set by the Client and the standards put in place by the Industry.
The very first and basic requirement of Quality Assurance is, the organization itself should have a Quality Conscience attitude with a strict and a big fat "NO" on making any compromises what so ever on Quality. Hiring absolutely qualified people not the kind who wouldn't know Quality if it bit them in the ass, creating and maintaining a productive, professional but friendly environment across all departments (Zero Toleration towards politics and below the belt personal attacks) ,acquiring tools and latest technologies(Absolutely No Penny Pinching), proper training and human resource management (The right person for the right job) all play a vital role in the development of a product which the company could later boast about.
Then comes the client and his standards, more then often a client will expect quality but will refuse to grant the time or dough required for it. This is a true fact and sadly this is the nature of the outsourced I.T Industry, so what to do in this situation? kick the quality factor out of the product? well you would be a ultra moron if you do so. The simple yet effective solution here is to school the client about the benefits of quality development and quality management. If the client has just an ounce of foresight, he/she will agree and let have your time and required bucks to develop a rich in quality product, but please, please refrain from misusing this opportunity for financial or any other form of unethical gains.
Next come the standards set by the industry itself, here the rule of thumb is that do not assume or think that you are wiser, more intelligent then the person who developed a particular standard. You can be a dumb ass but never a wise ass in this case. Yes the space to innovate is always there provided you are equipped with the knowledge necessary to put the wheels of innovation in motion. The people who developed these standards in the first place knew their business, they worked hard and worked intelligently and then came up with these standards, they demand and deserve respect so honor them by following or innovating them but steer clear from disgracing them by being a quality moron.
People who believe in quality do not vomit rainbows as some myths might suggest, the basic difference between normal and quality cautious people is paying attention to details. There is no such thing as NO QUALITY, but yes there is High Quality and Low Quality.
Quality Assurance is one of the most boring jobs in the world, you are surrounded by paper work all the time, but if you want to look at it from a different angle here's one, consider it as an adventure, because when you are surrounded with paper work the danger of getting multiple repeated paper cuts increases thus endangering your life and making QA an adrenaline pumping adventure.
The QA team is never allowed to assume and you cannot let your mind wonder off, doing the same thing meticulously over and over again gets you your pay check. You have a long list of documents which needs to be updated every time a minor or a major change is requested/forced, the list itself and each and every document on it. The irony is that everyone else is allowed to make mistakes except for the QA team as you are supposed to rectify all the mistakes committed by others.
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