How Do I Choose the Best Quality Assurance Analyst?

A quality assurance analyst is responsible for inspecting products to ensure that they meet company standards of quality and that they are compliant with laws and regulations. To choose the best quality assurance analyst, you first should decide which qualifications are most important to you. These vary by industry and by the expectations of a company's executives and upper level managers. In the software industry, for example, the best quality assurance analyst will definitely have experience overseeing software development and release processes. Quality assurance in food inspection, on the other hand, might only require that analysts have professional certification and basic experience.

In most cases, this kind of specialist bases his or her analyses on industry. For example, a software quality testing professional might use market research that explores client expectations. Informed by this data, he or she can test software to see that its functions run as smoothly as clients expect. A quality assurance specialist in the pharmaceutical industry, on the other hand, is likelier to focus on the federal, state, and local regulations that place limits on drug development.

An individual who would like to hire a full time quality assurance analyst may want to consider promoting an employee from within his or her company. Consider promoting an employee who has worked for your company for a number of years and who is familiar with the organization's values, goals, and overall culture. This can help ensure that the new quality assurance analyst has a strong understanding of processes and can create solutions for issues that affect business practices, both critical requirements.

Professionals in need of full time quality assurance analysts also often post job openings in periodicals and on websites. For positions with more specialized requirements, such as software and information technology jobs, you should place job postings in trade magazines. Placing job posts is a good idea even when you prefer to promote a current employee.

After taking resumes and cover letters from job candidates, choose to interview individuals who meet requirements and who seem promising. During an interview with a potential quality assurance analyst, ask questions that enable each interviewee to demonstrate his or her interest in and knowledge of your company. Learn about methods he or she performs and ask questions about how he or she might handle a challenging situation.

It is common for a quality insurance professional to have held positions in which he or she managed development of products. This type of experience helps candidates demonstrate familiarity with regulations and operations, and can provide insight into how products can be improved. If you are hiring in the software applications industry, for example, make sure your candidate of choice has worked for a number of years in software application development.

In most cases, a quality assurance analyst is a full time employee. When executives feel, however, that it is financially beneficial to contract third party help, normally for the duration of an individual project, they go to firms. If this is an option you are considering, choose a quality assurance firm that fits in your particular niche. Make note of factors such as the industries and transaction volumes of past clients a firm has served.

If you are interested in contracting a quality assurance analyst, you should schedule a consultation. Inform an analyst about the needs of your organization and learn which solutions he or she might implement. It might be a good idea to consult analysts from several different firms before making a final decision.