Selecting data based on risk

Data selection is the first step down the road of data-driven testing. You'll need to select the data that either drives the navigation of your application, represents the data that gets entered into your application, or both. One way to select data for testing is to select based on risk.

When you identify risks, you consider what can go wrong. You're looking for the events that might occur that would decrease the likelihood that you'll be able to deliver the project with the right features and the requisite level of quality on time and within budget. There are three ways to categorize risks:

  • By the impact of the risk -- the deviations of schedule, effort, or cost from plan if the risk materializes

  • By likelihood of occurrence -- the probability that the risk will materialize (usually expressed as a percentage)

  • By risk exposure -- the impact multiplied by the likelihood of occurrence