Test Data Management (TDM) aims to solve the numerous headaches that arise when a company faces the challenge of obtaining quality data in software testing.

Cost reduction, accurate planning, and security assurance are some of the challenges that information systems testing can generate.

Conversely, test data managed by a TDM system tends to simplify and streamline these functions.

Briefly, Test Data Management can be defined as the set of processes aimed at managing test data in software development and testing.

Its primary function is to generate data comparable to production data, ensuring their security and maximum efficiency.

What exactly are the benefits of TDM in terms of QA, productivity, and cost savings? From our experience in developing TDM systems at icaria Technology, here’s what we can tell you.

Test Data Management: Benefits for Software Testing and Beyond

1. Improved Test Performance

Test Data Management is crucial for efficient software testing for the following reasons:

• Automates tasks, ensuring a continuous flow.
• Allows working with smaller data sets, shortening work cycles and storage needs.
• Centralizes management and communication, avoiding incompatibilities with multiple programs.
• Improves deadlines and reduces wait times that would otherwise prolong the software testing process.
• Automatic reports enable faster and more accurate decision-making.
• Optimizes storage space by reducing the data size to what is necessary, allowing remaining storage to be used for other purposes.

2. Guarantee of Quality in Test Data

The quality of test data greatly determines the success of software testing.

Using an appropriate Test Data Management tool, companies avoid using outdated data or irrelevant subsets that could significantly impact the quality of the resulting software.

Quality assurance is generated on several fronts:

• Avoids human errors through the automation of all processes.
• Provides the ability to anticipate security risks. The right TDM system offers a comprehensive view of structured data and subsets, enabling the prediction of errors and reducing associated costs.

3. Increased Security in Test Data Management

Data masking is crucial for securing data in software development and testing environments.

Understanding this highlights the importance of Test Data Management: an automatic TDM system applies appropriate masking techniques to eliminate security risks.

It ensures compliance with current legal regulations regarding the protection of personal data.

It identifies sensitive data and applies necessary de-identification techniques, allowing their use in non-production environments while maintaining their integrity and quality.

4. Increased Productivity of Testers

The right Test Data Management tool frees the human team from many repetitive tasks.

In addition to avoiding human errors and wait times, this means testers are free to perform tasks that require their expertise and knowledge.

Reliable, quality data is always available to these human teams, presenting a central location that streamlines all processes and provides flexibility.

5. Cost Savings

The productivity and efficiency increases provided by Test Data Management, as mentioned above, have a fundamental benefit in the context of information systems development: significant cost reduction.

This economic savings are due to the following reasons:

• Ability to use smaller data sets, minimizing storage space needs, processing requirements, and other resources. Among other advantages, unnecessary duplicates are eliminated, and it is ensured that the data available is useful and essential. Additionally, it meets GDPR legal requirements by minimizing risks.
• Reduces errors that delay the process and potentially produce less effective final products misaligned with market demands.
• Boosts human teams' productivity. The agility and quality of projects are also enhanced by faster and more accurate research and data analysis processes.

In Conclusion: Test Data Management and Competitive Advantages

More and more companies understand the utility of TDM in their software development and testing processes.

In this regard, the market value of TDM-related technologies continues to grow: it is estimated to reach $1,752.5 million by 2027, according to Verified Market Research, with a CAGR growth rate of 11.6% between 2020 and 2027.

These figures on the expansion of TDM tools undoubtedly speak to the benefits that companies are already experiencing.

Ultimately, it is a secure way to gain a key competitive advantage, ensuring a good Return on Investment (ROI).

By streamlining and automating the software testing process through TDM, it is possible to ensure adaptation to current market demands, create brand differentiation, and ultimately move towards project success.

Are you looking for a Test Data Management tool to help improve software quality while reducing test data management costs? At icaria Technology, we can help.

Learn more about our TDM tool, talk to our team and see firsthand how this system can help your business.