Ned Batchelder writes about QA, and how it isn't really 'quality assurance' at all.
I'm not sure how the role of Quality Assurance got its name. It's not right.
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Don't get me wrong: I love QA. I think it is an important role. But you're doing it wrong if you think you are improving quality. It should be named Reality Check, or just Testing, or something like that.