---
title: "Software quality assurance"
subject: "Software Engineering"
chapter: 9
key: "semester_5/software_engineering:sqa-note"
source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_5/software_engineering/sqa-note
site: BCT Engineering
---

# Software quality assurance

Software Engineering · Chapter 9: Quality management

- Asked in: 2069 Chaitra, 3 marks; year not given, 5 marks
- Video: [Software Quality Assurance (SQA), Activities of SQA |SE|](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8SYmtuJv10) — Trouble- Free
- Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14
- Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_5/software_engineering/sqa-note
- Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_5/software_engineering/chapter-9

## Question

Write a short note on software quality assurance.

## Short answer

Software quality assurance (SQA) is a systematic, planned set of activities ensuring that the software process and product meet quality requirements. It covers standards, technical reviews, testing, error analysis, change management, audits, and measurement. SQA tasks include plan preparation, process review, work product auditing, and handling deviations. Benefits include fewer defects, lower costs, and greater customer confidence.

## Answer

**Software quality assurance (SQA)** is a planned and systematic set of activities that gives confidence that the software process and the software product meet their stated quality requirements. It is an "umbrella activity" applied throughout the whole software process, not only at the end.

**SQA covers** (Pressman):
1. An SQA process and plan for the project.
2. Quality assurance and quality control tasks, such as technical reviews and a multi-tiered testing strategy.
3. Effective software engineering practice (methods and tools).
4. Control of all work products and the changes made to them.
5. Procedures to ensure compliance with standards.
6. Measurement and reporting mechanisms.

**Elements of SQA**
- **Standards**: make sure standards (IEEE, ISO, company coding rules) are adopted and followed.
- **Reviews and audits**: technical reviews find errors; audits check that guidelines are followed.
- **Testing**: ensure testing is properly planned and carried out.
- **Error/defect collection and analysis**: find out how errors are introduced and how to prevent them.
- **Change management**: ensure changes are controlled.
- **Education, vendor management, security, safety and risk management.**

**Tasks of the SQA group**
- Prepare the SQA plan for the project.
- Take part in defining the project's software process.
- Review software engineering activities to check that they follow the defined process.
- Audit selected work products.
- Ensure that deviations are documented and handled.
- Record any non-compliance and report it to senior management.

**Example:** before a release of a college result-processing system, the SQA team checks that code reviews were held, test reports exist for every module, and all change requests were approved, before allowing the release.

**Benefits:** fewer defects, lower rework and maintenance cost, better customer confidence, and a more predictable process.

## Check yourself

The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why.

1. How is software quality assurance best described?
   A. Testing done only at the end of development
   B. A planned, systematic umbrella activity applied throughout the process to give confidence in quality
   C. Only writing the user manual
   D. Fixing defects after release
   Answer: B. SQA is applied across the whole software process, not just at the end. (Key point: What SQA is)

2. Which is a task of the SQA group?
   A. Writing all the program code
   B. Setting the product price
   C. Auditing selected work products and reporting non-compliance to senior management
   D. Replacing the development team
   Answer: C. The SQA group prepares the plan, reviews activities for process compliance, audits work products and reports deviations. (Key point: SQA group tasks)

3. What is the purpose of error and defect collection and analysis in SQA?
   A. To find how errors are introduced and how to prevent them
   B. To assign blame
   C. To skip testing
   D. To increase code size
   Answer: A. Analysing defects shows how errors arise so the process can be changed to prevent them. (Key point: Elements of SQA)

## Related in Software Engineering

- [Formal technical review; Garvin’s quality dimensions](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fsoftware_engineering%3Aftr-garvin) — Software Engineering, chapter 9
- [SQA plan and quality standards](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fsoftware_engineering%3Asqa-plan-standards) — Software Engineering, chapter 9
- [Why quality standards are needed](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fsoftware_engineering%3Aquality-standards-need) — Software Engineering, chapter 9
- [SEI CMM and quality; ISO versus CMM](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fsoftware_engineering%3Acmm-vs-iso) — Software Engineering, chapter 9
- [SQA and statistical SQA](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fsoftware_engineering%3Asqa-statistical) — Software Engineering, chapter 9

## Related in other subjects

- [Differentiate quality control and assurance](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fproject_engineering%3Aqa-vs-qc-differentiate) — Project Engineering, chapter 4
- [Quality assurance](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fict_project_management%3Aquality-assurance) — ICT Project Management, chapter 10
- [Quality control of concrete at site](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fconcrete_technology_and_masonry_structure%3Aquality-control-at-site) — Concrete Technology and Masonry Structure, chapter 5, asked 11×
- [QA vs QC; types of cost of quality](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fproject_engineering%3Aqa-vs-qc-cost-of-quality) — Project Engineering, chapter 4, asked 2×