How do we ensure quality?

Quality assurance is the key to the success of any business. The software development process goes through various phases, and ensuring quality at every step is a must. In the previous section, we saw why it's important to deliver a quality product. In this section, we'll learn how we can deliver quality products.

Delivering a project with a defined scope within a specified amount of time, with a set budget, and with certain quality standards expected by the customer are key factors in making a project successful. However, reaching a reasonable trade-off between these factors is necessary to get to market quickly and to remain competitive.

For example, if the scope of the project increases while the resources and time remain the same, it will affect quality directly, since the team to remain to deliver more within the stipulated time frame. Since their work hours do not change, the team might have to cut the testing time or reduce test coverage to deliver on time. The following diagram depicts the Iron Triangle:

The objectives of the triangle—also referred to as the Iron Triangle—help us to deliver projects successfully. To ensure quality, we need to satisfy the Iron Triangle's objectives. A traditional project management triangle consists of the following:

The Iron Triangle helps project managers to analyze and understand the trade-offs while catering to these factors. A proper balance must be achieved to ensure the desired levels of quality to produce a successful product.