Category: Test Data Management

Quality Engineering Role in Root Cause Analysis

The worst defects are the ones that become incidents in production. You might hear about the cost of defects in various stages of the SDLC, but I’ve seen incidents that cost over $1M an hour in production downtime. Some QE teams might avoid looking at these because the fire is too hot. If you are… Continue reading Quality Engineering Role in Root Cause Analysis

It’s Late 2016, What’s the New Rule for Performance Test Environments?

This question was passed around internally last week: “Does anyone on this distribution list have a list of good reasons why a test environment should approximate that of production to provide accurate test results in lieu of using a cheaper, smaller test environment and math to estimate production-like results?” In my former career, we had… Continue reading It’s Late 2016, What’s the New Rule for Performance Test Environments?

The Building Blocks of Test Data Management

Last month, I suggested mechanisms and tools to help testers acquire the data they need for testing. The process is simple and straightforward—if testers and test data engineers follow specific, definable steps. One of those steps is making precise, complete data requests, which in turn involves having well-defined data requirements. But what happens if the… Continue reading The Building Blocks of Test Data Management

Use Test Data Automation to Hypercharge Test Execution

How do you get the data you use for testing? Do you find it? Create it? Request it? What if you only had to find it/create it/request it once? How easy would your life be? MUCH EASIER is the answer. So, finding it or having to create it isn’t easy. What if you switched over… Continue reading Use Test Data Automation to Hypercharge Test Execution

Data-Focused Test Strategy for New Data Warehouse

As part of a workshop discussion someone posed the following example to our group of test professionals and asked how we would solve the following problems. I am paraphrasing. How do we insure data quality and integrity at the application programming interface (API) level in the new data warehouse? Note that the solution below is… Continue reading Data-Focused Test Strategy for New Data Warehouse

Cover the Data Coverage Gap with Data Scripting in GT Datamaker

Talking about testing, most of the time we are used to working with sets of data that will be used over and over again. Then a refresh comes to the environment, and again we will have the same data, maybe some changes or addition will come but it will be the same. Most of the… Continue reading Cover the Data Coverage Gap with Data Scripting in GT Datamaker

Test Data Management Maturity Assessment

Test data generation has matured beyond the realm of inputs, as it is described on Wikipedia. Test Data practices must consider the overall quality of the digital assets for a business. The data are not only persistent, they are often the most important IT artifacts for these businesses. With the emphasis on software development in… Continue reading Test Data Management Maturity Assessment

The New Grid-Tools Webinar Series: ‘Lunch and Learn’

Grid-Tools Lunch and Learn webinar series is back by popular demand! Each month we will be hosting a webinar on a variety of different topics, from technical demonstrations to broadcasts which focus on ROI and business benefits. If you would like to be sure that you get the invites to the webinars then click here… Continue reading The New Grid-Tools Webinar Series: ‘Lunch and Learn’

Test Data Management: It’s More than Masking and Subsetting…

Recently, I Googled test data management (TDM). I’m not sure why I was surprised by the results, but I was. The majority of the results on the first page were focused on subsetting and masking from production. This is not the whole picture. Why is subsetting and masking not the only answer? Production copies will… Continue reading Test Data Management: It’s More than Masking and Subsetting…