October 10, 2023

Transforming Test Data with Test Data Pro

Intelligent Test Automation
Mobile Application Development

As part of Perforce’s robust application quality platforms, BlazeMeter — the industry leader in performance testing — recently released a transformative suite of tools that takes the generation and implementation of test data within testing to the next level. 

BlazeMeter's Test Data Pro enhances test data through its AI-Driven Data Profiler, boosts system resilience with Chaos Testing, and streamlines the process of data generation AI-Driven Data Creator. These AI-driven functionalities offer unparalleled improvements in testing efficiency, coverage, and quality. 

In this blog, we’ll break down the challenges with test data, each feature of Test Data Pro, and how Test Data Pro addresses those challenges. 

If this game-changing test data tool sounds like something that will benefit your testing team, you can request a custom demo and see it in action. 

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Test Data Challenges

Test data can be complex and tricky to use. It includes parameters, variables, and records. By using test data, QA, testers, and developers can simulate real-world usage of applications and software, which helps test for expected outcomes.  

The key with using test data to your advantage is to ensure it is comprehensive and high-quality. That means test data should translate to test results that are thorough and accurate, and that the application will be more robust. Low quality or inadequate data will result in incomplete test scenarios and missed issues.  

Using real production data as test data is usually not an option, since it risks exposing sensitive information and violating compliance regulations. Therefore, many organizations opt to use synthetic or mock data. Synthetic data provides more flexibility and control without compliance risks.  

Manually generating high quality synthetic data, on the other hand, is time-consuming and resource intensive — limiting the volumes of data that can be generated. Because of this, it is challenging to maintain data consistency across tools, tests, and environments or to simulate complex real-world data relationships and dependencies. This is where BlazeMeter Test Data Pro comes in. 

What Test Data Pro Can Do

With BlazeMeter Test Data Pro, users can bypass traditional test bottlenecks using:  

AI-Driven Precision

Test Data Pro employs generative AI to instantly profile and create data generating functions and test data from scratch, including complex data types such as structured data sets requiring multiple fields (e.g., first name, last name, address). This precision ensures that users have the exact data needed to properly execute tests, increasing testing velocity and accuracy. This includes synchronizing the data driving the test, data in mock/virtual services, and data in systems under test.   

Expanded Coverage

By seamlessly creating diverse data sets, Test Data Pro enables comprehensive testing coverage across a wide array of scenarios including negative testing. This comprehensive approach helps identify potential issues faster.   

Accelerating Testing While Maintaining Data Privacy

Test Data Pro maximizes testing velocity while protecting sensitive customer data. By automatically generating synthetic yet realistic test data, teams avoid using real production data in testing environments. This eliminates data privacy concerns and compliance risks.    

Chaos Testing for Resilience

Test Data Pro introduces chaos testing by intermixing positive and negative test data during test executions. This allows users to gauge system resilience and validate application performance under circumstances they would normally not have tested.   

Test Data Pro Features

Test Data Pro provides four new innovative features that benefit testing teams.  

AI-Driven Data Profiler

The new AI-driven data profiler enhances test data by using AI to identify and expand hard coded data in tests. First, data is garnered from predefined lists, like specifications or recordings. Then, it is automatically generated and added to the test. To streamline efforts even further, relevant data generation expressions are suggested.  

AI-Driven Test Data Creator

Generative AI can be used to streamline and optimize test data generation, which is exactly what this feature enables. The test data creator converts human-readable text to test data functions using generative AI. It analyzes test context, CSV files, and inputs to suggest appropriate test data functions.  

AI-Assisted Test Data Function Generator

Spend far less time building test data functions with an AI-Assisted Function Generator. Use natural language to create functions without coding or memorizing names.  

Chaos Testing

Stress testing boosts system resilience. Therefore, this feature used AI to generate unexpected test data that challenges the system and identifies vulnerabilities. 

Benefits of Test Data Pro

With Test Data Pro, testers enjoy:  

Precision: AI-enhanced test data ensures precise and reliable testing, reducing errors and improving results.  

Scalability: Test Data Pro enables scaling applications efficiently with AI-generated test data, enhancing stability under challenging conditions.  

Efficiency: AI-assisted test data generation optimizes testing workflows, saving time and resources. 

Use Cases for Test Data Pro

BlazeMeter Test Data Pro can help you in a multitude of ways, including:  

Simulating production — Test Data Pro provides a better variety of data that simulates and covers production data variations.  

Outdated test data — Test data Pro offers an easy way to define desired data, with 60+ generators and 50+ built-in seedlists, or by reusing data models created by others.  

Outdated or incorrect test data sets — BlazeMeter has a direct link to data definitions that are regenerated for every run. There is no need to keep any external mapping.  

Insufficient external data generation — Testers, QA, or developers can easily define data themselves. There is no need for back-and-forth conversations with external teams.  

3rd party dependencies — The use of mock services instead of real services ensures they are always available and allow testing on-demand.  

Waiting for interdependent components and services to be developed — Mock services are created from early API specifications, enabling the simulation of any system that is not yet developed.  

Interconnected components are down — Mock services are available on-demand in as many instances as needed by different testers and teams.  

Lack of a sufficient volume of test data — Test Data Pro enables generating data for load tests of any scale 

Bottom Line

The benefits of Test Data Pro to testing teams are many. Time and money are two of the most valuable resources to any organization, and Test Data Pro helps save dramatically on both. 

To see Test Data Pro in action, you can request a custom demo tailored to your business and unique needs to see just how effective it can be for you. 

You can also see how Test Data Pro specifically, and BlazeMeter as a whole, can work in tandem with Perfecto to create a seamless, powerful end-to-end testing solution that teams can rely on to produce high-quality apps.