The demand for test data can come from both Functional & Non-Functional testing teams from both development and post go-live phases, as well from departments responsible for Business change implementation. Particular teams may require diversity in test data entities of different complexity and volumetry.
Testing teams are keen to optimize testing efforts and costs and overcome the challenges around test data delivery, like the lack of time to prepare data, keep test data secure or spinning up the test environments.
Best quality test data are coming from production - through masking techniques, confidential information are protected as ensuring compliance with GDPR and other industry standards. Sub-setting allows providing only specific range of test data best fit to requirements. While many organizations cannot utilize production data, the test data generation can be achieved by synthetic data creation - also powerful capability allowing swift test data provisioning.
Based on test data demand and its complexity and volumetry, in order to increase efficiency, the organizations frequently decide to invest in forming dedicated test data team. The team is created with the idea to be an internal service, responsible for test data capabilities development and test data entities delivery among all the teams.
In order to achieve business continuity organizations documenting approach of test data delivery. Test Data Strategy is a strategic level document providing set of guidelines and description of the Test Data Management process addressing key test data challenges.