How to test bounce handling accuracy?

Testing bounce handling accuracy validates your systems:

Test methods:

Synthetic testing: Send to known-invalid addresses. Classification review: Audit how bounces were categorized. Suppression verification: Confirm correct addresses suppressed. Comparison testing: Compare results to expected outcomes.

Test scenarios:

Hard bounce (user not found). Soft bounce (mailbox full). Block bounce (reputation rejection). DNS failure. Auto-response (should not suppress).

Accuracy metrics:

Correctly classified bounces. False positive rate (valid addresses suppressed). False negative rate (invalid addresses not suppressed). Processing latency.

Ongoing monitoring:

Sample audits of classifications. Review edge cases manually. Track classification distribution changes.

Testing validates that your bounce handling matches reality. Errors in classification compound over time.