Semi-realistic data is required for both testing and demonstrating the system. It is a truism that end customers do not relate to hypothetical statements. In order to demonstrate the site, a working model must exist. Not only must the model have functionality, the data presented by the model must be realistic enough that it does not distract the user's attention away from the functionality.
To develop test data, a test data document was written and a data generator implemented. The test data is generated by a set of rules and probabilities that allow patients to be created across a range of ages, ethnicity, gender, and severity of diabetes. This will allow us to test and demo data entry, patient browsing, searching, and visualization techniques.