<P> QA is very important in the medical field because it helps to identify the standards of medical equipments and services . Hospitals and laboratories make use of external agencies in order to ensure standards for equipment such as X-ray machines, Diagnostic Radiology and AERB . QA is particularly applicable throughout the development and introduction of new medicines and medical devices . The Research Quality Association (RQA) supports and promotes the quality of research in life sciences, through its members and regulatory bodies . </P> <P> The term product assurance (PA) is often used instead of quality assurance and is, alongside project management and engineering, one of the three primary project functions . Quality assurance is seen as one part of product assurance . Due to the sometimes catastrophic consequences a single failure can have for human lives, the environment, a device, or a mission, product assurance plays a particularly important role here . It has organizational, budgetary and product developmental independence meaning that it reports to highest management only, has its own budget, and does not expend labor to help build a product . Product assurance stands on an equal footing with project management but embraces the customer's point of view . </P> <P> Software quality assurance consists of a means of monitoring the software engineering processes and methods used to ensure quality . The methods by which this is accomplished are many and varied, and may include ensuring conformance to one or more standards, such as ISO 9000 or a model such as CMMI . In addition, enterprise quality management software is used to correct issues such as: supply chain disaggregation and regulatory compliance which are vital among medical device manufacturers . </P> <P> Consultants and contractors are sometimes employed when introducing new quality practices and methods, particularly where the relevant skills and expertise are not available within the organization or when allocating the available internal resources are not available . Consultants and contractors will often employ Quality Management Systems (QMS), auditing and procedural documentation writing CMMI, Six Sigma, Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA), Quality Function Deployment (QFD), Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), and Advance Product Quality Planning (APQP). </P>

Levels of quality assurance in system analysis and design