Quality assurance (QA) is a systematic process used to ensure that a product or service meets certain standards and customer requirements. It involves establishing a framework that defines the expected quality of products or services, identifying potential issues that may negatively impact the quality and developing methods to prevent or address these issues.

Here are the key aspects of quality assurance:

1. Planning: The initial phase of quality assurance involves defining the product requirements and setting quality objectives, including clear goals, metrics, and procedures.

2. Execution: During this phase, the quality assurance team uses a range of testing methods to ensure that the product meets the established quality criteria. These tests may include functional testing, performance testing, security testing, usability testing, and other methods as required.

3. Monitoring: Throughout the development process, the quality assurance team continually monitors the product quality, making adjustments as needed and updating the quality plan.

4. Quality control: This involves verifying that the product meets the established quality standards and customer requirements. This may involve inspection, testing, and certification processes to ensure that the final product is of the desired quality.

5. Continuous improvement: An essential aspect of quality assurance is the continuous improvement process. This includes analyzing the results of quality testing, identifying areas for improvement, and making changes to the development process as needed to continually increase product quality.

Overall, quality assurance is an ongoing process intended to provide a framework for ensuring consistent high-quality production, preventing defects and errors, and improving overall customer satisfaction.