On some projects I work on the Quality Control Audit process is simply an email at the end of test saying I signoff. There are no compliance standards or artifacts required to be provided. This makes it very difficult to ever look back and see what type of testing was done by the Quality Control testing team. On the projects I support, these are the artifacts I would expect out of the testers to ensure there was proper coverage of the requirements and that when QA does provide a signoff I understand exactly what it is they completed.

Test Plan – This is a must to lay out what was considered in scope or out of scope of the testing effort. The test plan should also lay out the overall testing strategy and approach and will drive what other artifacts will be needed during the quality control audit process.

Test Scripts – Test scripts are a must in any quality control audit process. It shows exactly what the testing resources did.  

Test Results – Did all of the scripts pass? Did any fail? How many defects were created? Were they all closed prior to release date? This is all important information the quality control team should provide. Generally a metrics report will be pulled out of Quality Center which covers the bulk of this information.

Traceability Matrix – I want to see how the test scripts covered the business and functional requirement so the project. Did we have complete coverage of the code or only partial?

Performance Test – If in scope of the project, did the application handle the load needed to meet production needs?

User Acceptance Test Signoff – While the quality control team is responsible to execute during QA or System testing, they should be involved with regression testing and coordinating user acceptance testing. Therefore I hold my quality control team responsible to get the UAT signoff and provide it as part of the quality control audit to ensure the code is solid. I look for the same test scripts and test results to be provided by our business partners.

Signoff – I expect each tester on the quality control team that was involved with the project to provide their signoff that the code is ready to go. This helps ensure there is more accountability in the quality of the work.

I have found having these artifacts no matter how large or small the effort, it helps to ensure the level of quality is at a high standard and makes it simple in case we need to provide evidence during a quality control audit.