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[Stripe sandboxes](https://docs.stripe.com/sandboxes) provide isolated environments for testing all available Stripe features within your business account without impacting your live integration. Additionally, you have the ability to control access to these sandboxes, defining who can use them. 

How you implement sandboxes can make all the difference. It’s important to decide on a sandbox strategy that best suits your organization's development approach and team size. This blog provides a comprehensive guide to choosing the right sandbox strategy based on your organizational context. 

## Getting Started

An admin user can grant access to multiple accounts, with each Stripe live account allowing for up to five sandboxes. To access sandboxes from your Stripe dashboard, navigate to the account picker menu in the upper left corner. 

![image1](/images/choosing-the-right-sandbox-strategy/1.png)

To create a new sandbox, choose the **\+Create** button from the Sandboard Dashboard UI. Each sandbox must have a name, which you can modify after creation. You have the option to copy settings from your live account. For detailed information on which attributes are copied, refer to the [sandbox settings page](https://docs.stripe.com/sandboxes/dashboard/sandbox-settings) in the documentation.

![image2](/images/choosing-the-right-sandbox-strategy/2.png)

After creating your sandboxes, you can view the complete list through the account dropdown or by visiting [https://dashboard.stripe.com/sandboxes](https://dashboard.stripe.com/sandboxes). From this page, you can delete sandboxes \- simply choose the trash can icon to remove a sandbox when it is no longer needed. 

With your sandboxes ready, it’s important to consider how to best use them based on your organizational structure and development goals. Choosing the right sandbox setup can influence the effectiveness of your testing process. By evaluating different strategies that align with your team's size, workflow, and specific needs, you can optimize your testing environments. 

The following sections explore various sandbox setup examples, ranging from a single project focus for startups to department-specific arrangements for larger organizations.

## Single Project Focus

For startups and small teams, the development landscape is often characterized by a singular focus – bringing a product to market quickly and efficiently. With limited resources and tight timelines, every minute spent on testing is crucial for accelerating development. In this environment, dedicated sandboxes become pivotal assets for small teams. Start by allocating your five available sandboxes to various stages of the development cycle. This segmented approach not only increases efficiency but also enhances the clarity of the testing process.

![image3](/images/choosing-the-right-sandbox-strategy/3.png)

**Development Sandbox** is the first stage where new features and code changes are tested. Here, developers can explore new functionality, resolve bugs, and refine user interfaces without worrying about repercussions on the live environment. Each change can be scrutinized in isolation, enabling developers to experiment freely while still adhering to deadlines.

Next comes the **Integration Testing Sandbox**, where the focus shifts to ensuring that all components work seamlessly together. It’s one thing to have an independent feature functioning correctly, but it’s another to confirm that the integration with other systems, such as payment gateways, databases, and back-end services, operates as intended. With a dedicated sandbox for this phase, teams can methodically test interactions in a safe environment, quickly identifying and addressing issues that may arise during integration.

After integration is [User Acceptance Testing (UAT)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acceptance_testing#User_acceptance_testing), a critical stage where actual users or stakeholders validate whether the product meets their requirements and expectations. A dedicated **UAT Sandbox** provides a realistic setting that closely mirrors the live environment, enabling teams to gather meaningful feedback. This stage is not just about functionality; it’s about delivering an experience that resonates with users, making it essential to test under conditions that simulate actual usage.

Lastly, two **Spare Sandboxes** can be used for overflow needs, accommodating unexpected testing scenarios that arise throughout development. Whether it’s a sudden requirement change or the need for quick tests on new integrations, having these extra environments ensures that the team can respond agilely without disruption.

By maintaining a focused approach with dedicated sandboxes, small teams can simplify their development process. Gain clarity in testing, minimizing the confusion and chaos often associated with overlapping testing environments. In doing so, you can quickly deliver high-quality products and set a solid foundation for future scalability and development within the organization.

## Department-specific and Rotating Sandboxes

In larger organizations or established businesses, the complexity of projects often necessitates a more structured approach to testing. With multiple departments, such as development, quality assurance (QA), marketing, and product management all contributing to a product’s lifecycle, overlapping efforts can create confusion and inefficiency. This is where department-specific and rotating sandboxes come into play, providing a streamlined and organized way to manage testing activities.

![image4](/images/choosing-the-right-sandbox-strategy/4.png)

The first step in this strategy is to allocate specific sandboxes to different departments. Each department can have its own dedicated sandbox tailored to its unique workflow and testing needs. For instance, the development team may use one sandbox for feature testing, ensuring that new code integrates seamlessly with existing functionalities. Meanwhile, the QA team can use another sandbox focused on stress testing and performance evaluation, validating that the application performs under varying conditions.

This separation allows for clear delineation of responsibilities and activities. Each team can work independently without the risk of impacting another’s testing environment. Developers can freely make changes and experiment with new features while QA conducts thorough tests to catch bugs and usability issues. 

Once your team concludes your testing phase, the sandbox can be deleted, with a new one created and reassigned to another department for their next project or testing cycle. This provides fresh environments that can accommodate the new testing needs of different departments.

Department-specific and rotating sandboxes create a dynamic and organized testing framework for larger organizations. With the ability to adapt quickly to new needs and integrate shared learnings, your development team is better equipped to deliver high-quality products in an increasingly competitive landscape.

## **Iterative Testing and Feedback Loops**

Agile methodologies prioritize flexibility, with iterative testing and feedback loops. By using Stripe sandboxes in this manner, development teams can expedite their delivery processes.

At the core of this strategy is the principle of rapid prototyping. By using dedicated sandboxes for specific iterations of a project, teams can test new features, functionality, and changes to the application without the fear of disrupting the live environment. This sandbox approach allows developers to experiment with various configurations and solutions. Each sandbox iteration is a chance to prototype ideas quickly, validate them with controlled testing, and gather immediate data on performance and usability.

![image5](/images/choosing-the-right-sandbox-strategy/5.png)

Next comes the significance of real-time feedback mechanisms. As developers work in their sandboxes, incorporating feedback loops ensures that insights are captured at every stage of the development process. Stakeholders, including product managers and user representatives, can interact with sandboxes during designated review phases, providing critical feedback that informs further development. This continuous stream of feedback allows teams to make meaningful adjustments throughout the lifecycle of a project, rather than waiting until the end to identify issues.

The advantages of an iterative approach extend beyond just testing new features; they foster a culture of continuous improvement. By integrating feedback at each stage, teams can learn and adapt, refining not just the product but also their development processes. For example, if a feature isn’t meeting user expectations, rather than remaining in a lengthy feedback and revision loop, developers can quickly implement changes in the sandbox, retest, and validate in real time. This leads to a faster pace of improvement, where products not only survive but thrive in user environments.

With each iteration documented, the knowledge gained from real-time testing becomes invaluable. Teams can maintain logs of what changes were made, what worked, and what didn’t, creating a repository of insights that guide future iterations. This clear record not only serves to educate new team members but also allows for informed decision-making in subsequent projects.

## Conclusion

Stripe sandboxes offers a new way for developers to test their Stripe integrations in an isolated environment. Sandboxes reduce the need to create multiple accounts to test different features during the development phase, and offer greater control and granularity over the permissions of each test environment. 

The flexibility of creation, deletion, and granular permissions lends sandboxes to multiple implementation approaches. Smaller development teams or startups may work best with a single project approach, Larger organizations may be more suited to a department or rotating sandbox strategy. Alternatively you may choose an approach that is based on your development methodology. By tailoring your strategy to your organizational context you can maximize the benefits of these environments. With proper management and usage, sandboxes become a vital resource in your development toolkit, helping you navigate challenges and deliver quality products faster than ever.

To learn more about developing applications with Stripe, visit our [YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/stripedevelopers).


Stripe Sandboxes offer a powerful solution for isolating testing environments, but how you implement them can make all the difference. Pick a sandbox strategy that best suits your organizations development approach and team size.

Choosing the right sandbox strategy for your organization

Ben Smith