👉 Shadow engineering refers to the practice of creating and utilizing simulated environments or "shadow" instances of systems, models, or applications to test, optimize, and improve performance without affecting the live production environment. This approach allows engineers to experiment with various configurations, scenarios, and edge cases in a controlled setting, reducing risks and costs associated with real-world testing. By leveraging shadow engineering, teams can identify potential issues early, refine algorithms, and validate changes before deploying them to production, ultimately leading to more robust, efficient, and reliable systems.
