5 Test Data Management Best Practices in 2023

What Is Test Data Management

Test data management enables system and application developers to conduct rigorous and effective system testing by creating non-production datasets that closely mimic an organization's real-world data. The quality of test data is important. Testing an application against generic data can lead to many problems once the application goes live. To avoid problems, you should thoroughly test your application against data that is as similar as possible to the actual data that will be used.

Test Data Management Best Practices

1. Define Test Data Requirements

Defines the properties of the data to test is one of the most crucial test data management best practices. This is critical since the test data is the input for running the test cases and should represent the actual data that the system processes. Therefore, identify specific data sets such as customer data, transactional data, and demographic data. Identify valid and invalid data, limits, actual data volumes, specific test environments, and more. first step.

When the requirements are defined, it becomes easier to select or generate data that accurately reflect real-world scenarios and supports the goals of the software application. 

2. Guarantee Personal Data

Today, as consumers and government agencies become increasingly aware of the dangers of collecting and using people's personal information, PII is a sensitive issue. Test data management tools must support specific compliance rules such as GDPR and CCPR, which often require the highest standards of data masking.

Sensitive data is protected by data masking. When a data masking tool can realistically anonymize data without revealing the actual data, it ensures both authenticity and compliance. Another security aspect to consider is how test data is stored and managed. Even for apps in development, it's important to ensure that test data is only accessible to authorized personnel and that security protocols are followed. 

3. Update Test Data in Real-time

Perhaps the most important aspect of test data is keeping it fresh. Due to the sheer volume of company data, many companies update their test data only periodically (for example, quarterly). Extracting and deploying test data is time-consuming, so test teams often reuse old data. Maintaining the relevance and reliability of test data requires a real-time synchronization mechanism that does not require a bulk database copy. Another important factor is ensuring that the performance of production systems is not impacted by frequent access. 

4. Maintain Test Data

Teams must also ensure that data is stored properly and remains consistent and error-free. This level of accuracy must be maintained across multiple use cases and as data volumes grow. This is an area that emphasizes the importance of test management, as deploying test data at scale is difficult. Be sure to monitor the cost-effectiveness of your test data storage solution and conduct regular audits to verify test data integrity, quality, and security. 

5. Automate the Process

The last text data management best practice is the automation test. Performing each test data management process manually is time-consuming, error-prone, and inefficient. Many test data managers face this problem. Automating your TDM process can save time, reduce errors, and improve efficiency. Several test data automation tools are available to quickly and easily perform tasks such as data generation, management, and updating test datasets. 

Among various auto-testing tools in the market, WeTest Automation is an amazing choice. It provides 1000+ device models and can perform automatic tests on your mobile app and PC software. Using it, your teamwork efficiency is extremely enhanced, and the test process will be faster and more precise.

Conclusion

The article introduces 5 text data management best practices. Hope this information will be beneficial to you. To make your test process easier and effortless, the dedicated testing service, WeTest Automation, is highly recommended. You can give it a try to improve your work efficiency.