At the current peak of Information and Technology growth, testers often use a lot of test data in the software testing life cycle.
The testers collect and maintain data from existing sources and generate huge volumes of test data to ensure their quality contributions in the delivery of the product for real-world use.
As testers, we must always be on the lookout for new methods and techniques to make testing faster, more efficient and more reliable.
As Test data is a major component if we test anything.
What is Test data?
Test data is the information that is used to test a system or application. It is used to check if the system or application is working well. Test data can be any information required to perform a test, such as the input, expected results, and any other relevant information.
There are two types of data: valid and invalid. Valid test data is data that matches the expected parameters and should result in the expected outcome. Invalid test data is input that does not meet the expected parameters and should result in an error or unexpected outcome.
For example, in a login test case, the valid test data would be a combination of a valid username and password, and the invalid test data would be a combination of an invalid username and password. Testing with both valid and invalid test data is a way to verify that the system or application can handle both expected and unexpected input and produce the correct results.
Why is Test Data Important?
- Before releasing
software, testers can use test data to quickly identify coding errors. - The accuracy of the test data for various situations will determine if the testing covered all necessary features in accordance with the application’s criteria.
- Test data can be used to identify code duplication or redundancies. This can make the code lighter and make the website more effective.
- If the testing team has a good collection of test data before they begin testing activities, the quality of the product will be equal to or better. Make sure all scenarios are covered. Several benefits of having such test data sets are listed below.
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- Eliminates defects at an early stage of development-
- Better coverage
- Higher ROI
- Streamlined testing cycles
Types of Test Data
Blank Data
Blank data is used to see how a program responds when no data is entered.
Valid Test
A valid test evaluates how a system responds to reliable information. It is usually used to evaluate the program’s main objective.
Invalid Test
It looks at how a program responds to inputs that are wrong, including the message it shows the user.
Boundary Conditions
Evaluate how various combinations of various values display.
Huge Test
Full tests determine whether the data is prepared for other kinds of testing, such as load and performance testing. It typically occurs at the end of the test data phase.
Test Data preparation techniques / Approaches
Manual Test Data Generation
Adding data from the admin panel.
Benefits:
a) This method doesn’t need any more materials.
b) The test team can create the data on its own without the help of any other team.
Back-end data injection
This is accomplished by using DB queries to insert data into the database.
Benefits:
a) A large amount of data can be made available fast.
b) Inject data into the system quickly.
3. Automated Test Data Generation
This is done with the help of data generation technologies, which can simplify the process of producing a large amount of data. Selenium and web services APIs are two tools that are used mostly in this technique.
Benefits:
a) This method’s increased speed is its key benefit.
b) Once the procedure has been automated, it can be carried out without the involvement of a human.
c) To save time, this technique can be programmed to execute during the off hours if a user needs thousands of data.
