Everything you need to know about test data management

 

The cut-throat competition in the software industry is challenging, especially for small businesses that are making their marks. In addition to that, the industry is evolving with each passing day and to stay afloat, companies need to come up with different strategies and amendments to their existing strategies. However, having a proper testing strategy is one of the core things that companies need to focus on. One of the most vital components of a testing strategy is to test data management. That’s what we are going to discuss today.

Also called TDM, test data management decides the quality of your software once it is deployed. Users must be able to accomplish their business objectives with the software they bought without any hurdles and hindrances. Errors, functionality, and operational issues in the software product might frustrate users and it might ruin your brand's reputation as well.

What Is Test Data Management?

First of all, let’s understand what test data management is. It is the process of managing test data to fulfill the needs of automated tests required to test the product, without any types of human intervention.

The first and foremost responsibility is to create the required test data for various types of test necessities. In addition to that, the test data manager also has to ensure that the test data is of the highest quality. Results that come from poor quality test data are unreliable and it might jeopardize your position in the market. Furthermore, the test data must resemble as closely as possible to the real data found in the servers.

Last, but not least, the test data team also needs to ensure the availability of test data as and when the developer or testing teams demand. So, there are three main goals: the availability of realistic and high-quality test data for testing processes.

Why Test Data Management Matters 

Now, let’s understand the importance of test data and test data management: 

Automated Testing Needs Quality Data

When you give poor inputs to any industrial process, the outputs would be poor and subpar. This is the basic tendency. In the testing world, it applies too. No matter how great your testing strategy is, if you end up feeding poor or bad-quality data, you are not going to have exact results. All investments you do for your software development will go in vain. Automated testing needs quality test data that can be trusted and can bring actual results.

Automated Testing Needs Available Data

There is no point in implementing the test data strategy you have made when you don’t have test data available when it is needed. No matter whether you have high-quality data in your servers, it is of no use when it is not available to the testing team. The test data management team needs to ensure that the data is available when it is required. Remember, high-quality data with high-availability is the mission you need to strive on.

You Want to Follow Data Regulations

There are data compliance rules and regulations in almost all countries. Failing to comply with these data regulations might create issues for your business. Here, we are not just talking about penalties by authorities, but your reputation as a business will be at stake. You might be in serious legal or financial trouble if you fail to comply with data regulations. This is the reason why test data management is the need of the hour.

Conclusion

Thankfully, automated testing has enabled organizations to manage their test data in a much better way compared to the earlier scenario. You need to have a separate team that only handles test data management and aspects relevant to it. Effective test data management combined with a good test data strategy will bring superior results for your organization.