5. Continuously Verify Quality

Often people ask why there is no worker in charge of quality in the Rational Unified Process. The answer is that quality is not added to a product by a few people. Instead, quality is the responsibility of every member of the development organization. In software development, our concern about quality is focused on two areas: product quality and process quality.

• Product quality -- The quality of the principal product being produced (the software or system) and all the elements it comprises (for example, components, subsystems, architecture, and so on).
• Process quality -- The degree to which an acceptable process (including measurements and criteria for quality) was implemented and adhered to during the manufacturing of the product.

Additionally, process quality is concerned with the quality of the artifacts (such as iteration plans, test plans, use-case realizations,design model, and so on) produced in support of the principal product.