How do you manage test data and environments in SCM?

1 Why test data and environments matter

Test data and environments are the inputs and settings that simulate the real-world scenarios and conditions for testing the software. They can include data sets, databases, configurations, parameters, user profiles, network connections, and more. Test data and environments matter because they affect the accuracy, reliability, and validity of the test results. If the test data and environments are not consistent, realistic, and isolated, they can introduce errors, conflicts, and biases that compromise the software quality and performance.

2 How to create test data and environments

Creating test data and environments can be a difficult and time-consuming process, especially for large and dynamic software projects. You need to consider the scope, scale, diversity, and security of the test data and environments, as well as the compatibility and interoperability of the software components and systems. There are several methods and tools available for creating test data and environments, such as manually creating and populating them using scripts, files, or user interfaces. This gives you more control and flexibility, but it can also be prone to human errors. Alternatively, you can use synthetic tools to generate random, realistic, or customized data and settings. This can save time and resources, but it could introduce limitations or risks. Finally, you could copy or clone production data and environments to create test data and environments. This ensures relevance and realism of the test data and environments, but it can also pose challenges in terms of data protection, privacy, and security.

3 How to store and manage test data and environments

Storing and managing test data and environments can be a difficult and expensive endeavor, especially for large and dynamic software projects. You must take into account the availability, accessibility, scalability, and security of the test data and environments, as well as the maintenance and synchronization of the changes and versions. There are various methods and tools for storing and managing test data and environments, like local machines or devices, remote servers or cloud platforms, or a combination of both. Local storage can provide more convenience and control while remote storage can offer more capacity and collaboration. However, each method has its own set of challenges and trade-offs such as cost, complexity, integration, compatibility, consistency, risk of data loss or corruption, and network connectivity/security.

4 How to automate test data and environments

Automating test data and environments can be a beneficial and efficient practice, especially for large and dynamic software projects. Automation tools and frameworks can help you reduce manual effort, increase consistency and accuracy, enable faster and more frequent testing, and handle larger and more diverse test data and environments. Examples of automation tools include Informatica TDM, IBM InfoSphere Optim, CA Test Data Manager, and Delphix for test data management, as well as Plutora Test Environment Management, IBM Cloud Pak for Integration, Micro Focus ALM Octane, and Enov8 for test environment management. These tools can help you create, store, manage, and update test data or environments in a centralized and standardized way. Additionally, they can help you mask or anonymize sensitive or confidential test data to comply with legal requirements or provision, configure, monitor, and troubleshoot test environments to ensure their availability and performance.

5 How to align test data and environments with SCM

Integrating test data and environments with SCM can be a critical and beneficial practice, especially for large and dynamic software projects. By using SCM tools and processes, you can ensure consistency and integrity, facilitate collaboration and communication, support traceability and accountability, and enable reuse and optimization. Version control systems such as Git, SVN, Mercurial, and CVS can help store, manage, and update the versions of test data and environments along with the software code and artifacts. Configuration management tools like Ansible, Chef, Puppet, and SaltStack can help provision, configure, monitor, and troubleshoot test environments. Finally, continuous integration and delivery tools such as Jenkins, Bamboo, Travis CI, and CircleCI can automate the testing process based on the changes of test data and environments.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?