Test Data Management

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Test data management is the process of planning, designing, procurement, storing, maintaining, securing and using the data that is used for testing software. Test data management helps to ensure that the data used for software testing is accurate, relevant, and up-to-date, and it properly reflects the real-world conditions in which the software will run. Test data management also helps to improve the quality and efficiency of testing, to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access or misuse.

Test Data Management Examples

• A test data management tool for a web application allows testers to create, edit, delete, and assign test data sets, link test data sets to test cases, generate synthetic or masked test data, provision test data to test environments, and monitor test data usage and quality.
• A test data management tool for a desktop application allows testers to locally create, edit, delete, and assign test data sets, link test data sets to operating systems or the desktop application, generate synthetic or masked test data, provision test data to test environments, and monitor test data usage and quality.
• A test data management tool for a cloud-based application allow testers to create, edit, delete, and assign test data sets, link test data sets to cloud platforms or cloud services, generate synthetic or masked test data, provision test data to test environments, and monitor test data usage and quality.
• A test data management tool for a mobile app allows testers to create, edit, delete, and assign test data sets, link test data sets to mobile devices or emulators, generate synthetic or masked test data, provision test data to test environments, and monitor test data usage and quality.
  

Tips for Test Data Management

• Use best practices such as defining the test data requirements and scope, designing the test data architecture, creating baseline and reusable and maintainable test data sets, generating realistic and diverse test data, provisioning test data on demand and in sync with testing cycles.
• Use a test data management tool for version control, and to automate and streamline your test data management activities
• Use test data management techniques such as synthetic data generation, production cloning, production masking, production subsetting, self-service provisioning for creating high-fidelity and compliant test data.
• Use test data management measurements such as number of test data sets created, test cases linked to test data sets, defects related to test data, environments provisioned with test data, test data reuse, test data refreshes, sensitive fields masked, records subsetted to help you evaluate and improve your test data activities.

FAQ (interview questions and answers)

1. What is the purpose of test data management?
   Provide high-quality and compliant data for testing your software.
2. What are the benefits of test data management?
   It improves the variety, quality and efficiency of software testing. It reduces the need to design test data during test execution. It protects sensitive test data from unauthorized access or misuse.
3. What are the challenges of test data management?
   It requires initial investment in terms of cost, time, training, and implementation. The test data management tool may not be compatible with the type of software tested, or it may have limited features or functionality, and it may need regular maintenance and updates.
4. How to evaluate a test data management tool?
   Ease of use, features, version control, functionality, integration with test management tools, concurrent user support, security, customer support and pricing.

Remember to just comment if you have any doubts or queries.