Which Salesforce Org do I perform Testing in?
With multiple stages of development and testing required during a project, a common question posed to a Quality Assurance Consultant could be where does testing take place. Without having a broad understanding of each available sandbox, this can be a confusing question and difficult to answer with confidence.
Although the number of sandboxes for your Org depends on the Salesforce edition it is beneficial to under what Sandbox Types are available and the purpose of each one and what data you can expect in them.
Developer Sandbox
As the name suggest, the Developer Sandbox is used for Development. Metadata from Production Data Types are copied and although Data itself cannot be copied, it is possible to load up to 200MB of data separately. The Developer Sandbox can also be refreshed daily.
Isolated environment Development and Testing can take place in this sandbox as well as End User Training.
Developer Pro Sandbox
Similar to the Developer Sandbox, the Developer Pro Sandbox only copies the Production Metadata and does not copy Data itself. However, this sandbox can have up to 1GB of data loaded separately. It can also be refreshed daily.
Isolated environment Development and Testing can take place in this sandbox but with more data being available.
Partial Copy Sandbox
The Partial Copy Sandbox copies the Metadata and Data that has been defined in a sandbox template from the Production Org. It also has a 5GB Data limit and up to a maximum of 10,000 records per selected object. With a 5 day refresh timeframe this should be where you are aiming to execute your system testing.
Full Sandbox
As the Full Sandbox is based upon a Production Org the capacity mirrors production and the Data Types copied will include the entire Production org including Metadata and Data.
Therefore, the Full Sandbox is best suited to Performance and Load Testing, and where there is a need, Staging.
A Certified Salesforce Administrator, Salesforce Einstein Analytics and Discovery Consultant, ISTQB® Certified Tester Advanced Level, Jitterbit Foundations and Jitterbit Core Certified QA Test Automation Manager who is also an experienced creative all-rounder with enthusiasm and the proven ability to understand client needs and deliver satisfying solutions. A thirst for new technology and modern Quality Assurance and Testing techniques keeps me aspiring to learn at every opportunity. My current role is at Publicis Sapient who are an official Salesforce Platinum Partner. Publicis Sapient provide Salesforce expertise and strategic thinking that enables organisations to transform their business to Cloud-based technology.