How can testing with live data break automations?

Live data testing creates real consequences:

Risks: Unintended sends: Test triggers send to real customers. Data contamination: Test activity pollutes customer records. Metric skewing: Test sends affect performance metrics. Irreversible actions: Cannot undo sends or data changes.

Common mistakes: Using production email list for trigger testing. Testing automation with real customer IDs. Forgetting to disable live sends during testing. QA environment connected to production ESP.

Safer approaches: Dedicated test accounts separate from customers. Staging environment with synthetic data. Test flags preventing real sends. Seed lists of internal addresses only.

When live testing is necessary: Final validation before launch with explicit safeguards. Small, consented test panels. Clear isolation from production sends.

Production data is real customers. Mistakes affect real relationships.