Which activity involves selecting or generating data for testing purposes?

Choosing or creating data specifically for testing is referred to as test data preparation. This activity is crucial because the quality and relevance of the test data can significantly impact the effectiveness of the testing process. Proper test data preparation involves identifying the data requirements based on the test cases and ensuring that the generated test data adequately represents the various scenarios that will be tested.

This process can include generating new data, selecting existing data from production environments, or using tools to automate the data preparation. The goal is to ensure that the data accurately reflects possible real-world situations that the software may encounter, thus allowing for thorough testing of its functionalities.

While test design focuses on defining the specific tests and scenarios to be executed based on requirements, and test execution refers to the actual running of tests, test data preparation is specifically dedicated to gathering and organizing the data needed to carry out these tests effectively. Test charters, on the other hand, serve as guidelines for exploratory testing sessions, outlining what to test but not directly involving data generation or selection.