Test Data Variant Management for Automated Versioning and Comparison
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current test data management systems are inefficient in tracking and reverting changes during application testing, leading to manual errors and time-consuming processes, as they lack effective versioning and comparison mechanisms, making it difficult to accurately verify test case success or failure and revert to original data states.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for creating and managing test data variants at various stages, which includes a processor-based system with a variant creation module, identification module, and tracking mechanism to store and compare changes, allowing users to create, modify, and revert test data to specific states, using a test data variant repository and generating scripts for insert, update, and delete operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If testers manually execute SQL queries to verify data changes, then they can view the latest data in the database, but the process is time-consuming and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by automatically comparing test data across versions without requiring manual query execution. The comparison mechanism autonomously identifies changes between test data versions, eliminating the need for testers to manually execute SQL queries and review results, thereby reducing both time consumption and error rates
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical manual process of executing SQL queries and reviewing table data with an automated electronic comparison system. The system uses database queries and automated comparison algorithms to identify data changes, substituting the manual mechanical process with an automated computational approach that is both faster and more accurate
2Loss of information
If testers manually compare data between test stages, then they can identify changes, but manual comparison may miss critical changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically executing comprehensive comparisons between test data versions. The comparison mechanism systematically reviews all data fields and identifies changes without human intervention, ensuring no critical changes are missed while eliminating the manual effort and potential human error associated with manual comparison
3Adaptability or versatility
If developers use long transaction management for test data versioning, then multiple logical databases can be maintained, but data volume in test environment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and stores only the changes (deltas) between test data versions rather than maintaining complete copies of all data versions. By extracting and storing only the differential information, the system enables versioning capability while minimizing the additional data volume required in the test environment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by storing version information selectively - only for the specific data rows that have changed between versions. Instead of uniformly storing all data across all versions, the system locally stores change information only where modifications occur, reducing overall data volume while maintaining versioning capability
4Ease of operation
If testers refresh the test environment to revert to original data, then they can start testing from the beginning, but all test cases must be rerun which is time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-storing multiple versions of test data with their associated change information. When reverversion is needed, the system can immediately restore a previous version without requiring reruns, as the data states have been prepared and stored in advance. This eliminates the time-consuming process of refreshing the environment and rerunning test cases
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables skipping by allowing direct restoration to any previous test data version without requiring the intermediate steps of refreshing the environment or rerunning test cases. The system stores sufficient information to jump directly to any previous state, enabling testers to skip the time-consuming processes of environment refresh and test case reruns
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention provides a system and method for creating one or more variants of test data during various test stages is disclosed. The system and method facilitates a user to create a primary variant for test data and to store the primary variant of the test data in a test data variant repository. Any changes performed in the test database by the user are identified by using a tracking mechanism to store one or more new variant along with a variant number with respect to the changes performed in the test database in response to the user's request. The primary variant and the new variants are accessed by the user to perform a comparative analysis and to modify the test data at any test stage.