QA Testing

["Parks, Beverly" <ParksB -at- EMH1 -dot- HQISEC -dot- ARMY -dot- MIL>]

        Gina Hertel [SMTP:Ghertel -at- ALPHA88 -dot- COM] asks:
        >>
        What exactly is Q & A testing?
        What goes into it?
        Whose responsibility is it?
        What is it for?
        What types of questions are asked?
        <<

        Q&A stands for Quality and Assurance. The answers to your
questions depend on the type of product you want to perform QA testing
on. (Just don't anyone QA that sentence!)

        Q&A, or QA, testing usually subjects a product to whatever tests
are necessary to ensure the product meets whatever operational,
construction, and safety requirements and specifications have been set
for it.

        QA tests are usually performed by a person or division with that
specific responsibility. The developers of the product should not
perform the QA tests because they are "too close" to it and could easily
overlook something important because of their familiarity with the
product.

        QA testing is usually done under strict protocol. Test plans are
written and followed to ensure consistent methods and to provide an
audit trail so that if a failure of some sort is discovered, the tester
knows precisely what steps were performed that lead up to the failure.

        Bev Parks
      parksb -at- emh1 -dot- hqisec -dot- army -dot- mil
      http://www.bayside.net/users/cbsites/techwr-l/