Plan and manage quality of products/deliverables
Plan and manage quality of products/deliverables
What you will learn
- Distinguish Quality Assurance from Quality Control.
- Identify which activities are preventive (before a defect occurs) and which are detective (after it occurs).
- Describe the concept of cost of quality and its two core categories.
- Connect quality assurance to the process and quality control to the final deliverable.
Many use "quality assurance" and "quality control" interchangeably, but the difference between them is core to the PMP exam: one focuses on the process itself before any defect occurs, the other focuses on the actual deliverable after it's produced.
Quality assurance vs. quality control
| Quality Assurance | Quality Control | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | The process itself — how the work is produced | The actual deliverable — does it meet requirements |
| Timing | Preventive — before a defect occurs | Detective — after the deliverable is produced |
| Example | A process audit, reviewing the standards being followed | Inspection, testing, comparing the deliverable to specifications |
Cost of quality
| Cost of Conformance | Proactive spending on prevention and appraisal (training, audits, inspection) to avoid later errors. |
|---|---|
| Cost of Non-conformance | The cost of internal failure (rework before delivery) and external failure (post-delivery fixes, complaints) resulting from unprevented errors. |
What matters on the exam
- Auditing a process or reviewing the work standards followed is a quality assurance (preventive) activity, not quality control.
- Inspection or testing on a finished deliverable is a quality control (detective) activity, happening after production, not before.
Not synonyms despite the surface similarity
A common trap in question wording: using "quality assurance" and "quality control" interchangeably. A simple keyword settles the difference: if the question describes an activity happening during the process before a final deliverable exists, it's quality assurance; if it describes inspecting a finished deliverable, it's quality control.
Quick check
Answer in your head first, then reveal.
Which focuses on the process: quality assurance or quality control?Reveal the answer
Quality Assurance.
Is inspecting and testing a finished deliverable quality assurance or quality control?Reveal the answer
Quality Control.
What are the two core categories of cost of quality?Reveal the answer
Cost of conformance (prevention and appraisal) and cost of non-conformance (internal and external failure).
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Your next step
Read the lesson, then mark it complete
Sources
Used to verify the facts. The writing is original to Passuit.