Checklist: Smartlink QA — synthetic checks vs live traffic sampling

Checklist: Smartlink QA — synthetic checks vs live traffic sampling

Synthetic QA (you fire test clicks):
☐ Use before launch and after every rule change
☐ Spoof geo via proxy + device via UA override
☐ Covers each branch deterministically — every geo, every fallback
☐ Misses real-world weirdness (carrier IPs, in-app browsers)

Live sampling (inspect real click logs):
☐ Use continuously after launch
☐ Pull 100 random click logs, verify geo→offer mapping by hand
☐ Catches what synthetic can't: real edge cases, bot patterns

Step — Build a synthetic matrix: every geo tier × {iOS, Android, desktop} × {primary, fallback}. Run it as a pre-deploy gate.
Step — Schedule live sampling daily on top campaigns.

Tradeoff: synthetic is repeatable but artificial; live is real but non-deterministic.

Run synthetic on every deploy; live-sample daily.