Different quality assurance techniques can be applied in the software development lifecycle to improve the quality of a product. Today, no holistic approach for planning and customizing inspection and testing techniques in a given context exists. In this paper, we present a framework which consists of the main aspects necessary for a systematic planning of quality assurance activities in different development steps. We present the core elements of the framework: influence and variation factors, characteristics of techniques and a role concept. The framework is a first step towards a systematic planning approach for quality assurance, which has to be refined in future research. Based on the elements, we recommend an initial process how to apply the framework. With this, a basis is developed to support quality managers planning quality assurance techniques in a more systematic way.