Our automated BOM test suite is failing consistently in SAP PLM 2020 test environment. The root cause is missing reference data - parts, materials, and suppliers that exist in production but aren’t properly replicated to test.
Test data setup is our biggest challenge. When test cases try to create BOMs, they reference parts that don’t exist:
SELECT * FROM part_master
WHERE part_number = 'P-12345'
-- Returns 0 rows in test, exists in prod
Our reference data management process is broken. We manually copy selective data but miss dependencies. Automated BOM test execution fails because:
- Part masters exist but their associated materials are missing
- Supplier records aren’t synchronized
- Classification hierarchies are incomplete
This reduces test coverage significantly. We can only test about 40% of BOM scenarios. What’s the right approach for maintaining comprehensive test data that includes all reference dependencies?
Classic test data problem. You need automated reference data provisioning, not manual copying. Build scripts that identify all dependencies for your test scenarios and pull them from production with proper masking. The key is making test data setup part of your automated test pipeline, not a separate manual process.
You need a hybrid approach. Use static templates for stable reference data like standard parts and material classifications. For dynamic data like suppliers or recent part revisions, implement automated refresh scripts that run nightly. The key is separating what needs to be static for test repeatability versus what should sync from production for currency.
The template approach sounds promising. How do you handle data that changes frequently in production? If we create static templates, they’ll become outdated quickly. Do you refresh templates regularly or is there a way to make them more dynamic?
We solved this by creating test data templates for common BOM patterns. Each template includes the complete reference data graph - parts, materials, suppliers, classifications, everything. When a test suite runs, it provisions its required template data first. This gives you controlled, repeatable test data without copying the entire production database.
The dependency tracking is crucial. In SAP PLM, a part can have relationships to dozens of other objects. You need a tool that can traverse these relationships automatically. We built a reference data extractor that takes a list of part numbers and recursively finds all related objects, then generates SQL scripts to create them in test environments. Reduced our test data setup time by 80%.