Thursday, April 23, 2009

The Nature Of Test Data

The proper choice of test data is as important as the test itself. If test data as input are not valid or representative of the data to be provided by the user, then the reliability of the output is suspect.

        Test data may be artificial (created solely for test purposes) or live (taken from the user's actual files). Properly created artificial data should provide all combinations of values and formats and make it possible to test all logic and transaction path subroutines. Unlike live data, which are biased toward typical values, artificial data provide extreme values for testing the limits of the candidate system:

For large, complex systems, a computer program is used to generate necessary test data. Data-generating programs save substantial time for both the programmer and the test itself. A familiarity with system files and parameters, however, is necessary for writing an effective data-genera program.

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