Quality assurance (QA) is the process of verifying that a software product meets the standards and requirements as stated by its stakeholders. QA is an ongoing process throughout the development of a software product, from the initial design phase all the way through to deployment. QA processes help to identify defects in a product before it is released, ensuring that the end-product is of the highest quality possible and meets the needs of the customer. QA teams typically use a variety of techniques to ensure thorough testing of the software product. These include unit testing, integration testing, acceptance testing, and system testing. Each of these techniques has a different purpose, and all of them are critical to an effective quality assurance process. Unit testing is used to test individual components of the software product, such as functions and classes. This type of testing helps to identify any potential bugs or errors that may be present in the code. Integration testing is used to test how components interact with each other; it is used to find potential bugs or errors that may be caused by the interactions between different parts of the system. Acceptance testing is used to verify that the software product meets the requirements and expectations of the customer. Finally, performance and reliability tests are applied. QA teams also use test automation tools to help with the testing process. Automated testing helps to reduce the time and effort required for manual testing, as well as providing a more consistent and reliable testing process. Test automation can also be used to create reports on the results of the tests, helping to identify any potential issues and track progress towards completion. By using the techniques and tools discussed above, QA teams can effectively test software products and ensure that they are ready for release.