In software development, the quality control manager ensures a product conforms to expected standards, legal requirements and user expectations.
A Quality Control Manager is responsible for the quality of a software product throughout development. They manage a team of QC testers and are responsible for establishing quality control policies and procedures for the team to follow.
Quality control plays a vital part in ensuring the developed product is acceptable. The role involves interacting with customers, understanding the needs and requirements, and then reviewing the end products to ensure compliance with the set specifications. They also monitor the performance of policies, ensuring their effectiveness.
What is Quality Control in Software Development?
The main objective for Quality Control, or QC, is to ensure the software meets defined requirements from functional and non-functional perspectives. A set of processes check that the condition of software products or services and the built software is fit for use and meets defined customer quality goals. QC helps ensure that standards are adhered to during development.
The International Organization for Standardization in ISO 9000 describes Quality Control as “a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements.” In software development, the quality control team or the testing team inspects the completed work to ensure it meets the stated requirement.
Role of a Software Quality Control Manager
Conduct Quality Audits
One of the role’s primary responsibilities is to conduct quality audits to ensure the team adheres to the defined policies and procedures. They also establish systems and processes for reporting quality-related issues. Analyzing software and its associated documentation for nonconformance with standards is also part of the remit. During software development, they review the product development procedures to identify any deviations from quality standards. As part of the audit, they also conduct a review of internal documentation.
Release Defect Free Products
The quality control team starts testing the product after development. They use tools and equipment to identify as many defects as possible during the testing. The team reports their inspection results through test reports, notifying the developers when they discover a defect. The QC manager gets involved when a communication contains critical or repeated failures. They examine anything that deviates from what expectations and recommends corrective actions or programs. QC managers inspect the final product, compare it with the requirements, and then decide whether to approve or reject. They aim to release defect-free, high-quality products to the market and ensure that products ready to ship meet the required standards.
Actively participate in reviews
As part of their responsibilities, the QC manager participates in studies from the design stage through implementation and test documentation to assure conformance to quality control standards. They also review any changes requested during testing to ensure incorporation.
Collaboration
QC managers convey quality control information to their teams and all relevant units, including third-party vendors, customers, and contractors. They also assist external quality-auditors in conducting on-site audits and collaborate with other quality employees to check for procedures, systems, and operation standards. They facilitate communication with management about ongoing issues and concerns. This prevents them from being excluded from testing and helps them to make informed decisions.
Team Monitoring
Quality control managers oversee and guide the team. They organize and conduct training for team members to improve their skills and knowledge about the product’s quality requirements. They also take care of the testers’ recruitment and training to build a productive team. QC managers monitor the team’s work and ensure they work towards achieving quality.
Create Documents
One of the quality control manager’s responsibilities is to document testing procedures, methodologies, and guidelines. At the end of the testing and review cycle, they prepare reports on nonconformance of policies, root cause analysis, and improvement recommendations. They also incorporate other feedback into the statements to update the documents, keeping them accurate. QC managers maintain proper records and documentation of quality testing and other quality-related activities.
Conclusion
Maintaining and improving software quality is a continuous effort that demands a high degree of focus. A quality control manager needs an in-depth knowledge of quality control procedures to perform their responsibilities well. They also need to be an excellent communicator and have a strong understanding of statistical methods, data analysis skills, and legal standards. The quality control manager also analyzes production data to find even more ways to improve the build process.
