Test data

Test data is a collection of related data records that supplies realistic data values to variables in a manual test script.

Because data is separate from the test script, test data provides flexibility:

You can modify test data without affecting the test script.
You can share test data with many test scripts and users.

When you create test data, you import the data from a comma separated values (CSV) file. To use external data in a manual test, associate the test data with a manual test script. When you associate a manual test script with test data, you can insert variables into the test script, replacing literal values. During test execution, the variables in the manual test script are replaced with data from the imported CSV file. By replacing literal values with variable data, you can use a single script to test multiple data records. Test data can be shared with other team members and offers a powerful way to extend test coverage.

Test data categories

You can create test data categories to organize test data artifacts. By assigning categories to your test data artifacts, you can easily set up a hierarchical directory structure that will help keep you organized and help you find individual artifacts among the many test data artifacts that you typically manage.