Each element in the production chain of airborne lidar operation will inevitably influence the final quality of the product. By selecting different parameter values in each check item, and adopting different procedures, one can define the quality level of the product required for the application. This study investigates the production flow of airborne lidar for the digital elevation model and digital surface model. The procedures and different phases of the operation are analyzed. A series of check items for quality assurance and their schedule are proposed. Three phases are identified, mission planning, data collection, and data processing. In the data processing, it is further divided into point cloud generation, classification, and editing.