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Glite Dictionary
alpha test

alpha test

1 5.3
An early trial of new software run by the developers to find major bugs
  • noun
  • /ˈælfə tɛst/
  • Specialized
translation icon : prueba alfa
  • We will conduct an alpha test of the new software to fix any issues before the public launch.
  • Cronbach's alpha test

Examples

  • Questions combined in a cluster for evaluation were subjected to the Cronbach's alpha test for reliability features.

    Academic text (1991)

  • In addition, Cronbach's alpha test was conducted for the subscales to check their reliability.

    Academic text (1990)

  • The Cronbach alpha test is used to determine an instrument's reliability when one item is deleted from the calculations.

    Academic text (2009)

  • In the screenshot below, we are testing a sign-up form to see whether our alpha test has a greater conversion rate than our baseline.

    Blog text (1)

  • Two measures of reliability were assessed: the Spearman correlation for test-retest reliability and the Cronbach alpha test for internal consistency.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Before releasing the app to users, the developers ran a thorough alpha test to catch bugs.

  • The team is excited to start the alpha test for our latest video game and gather feedback.

Synonyms

testing
vsalpha test
504 2.5

A process of checking how well something works or how safe it is

is a specific early developer check aimed at finding software bugs
trial run
vsalpha test
13 3.2

A short test to see if something works well before real use

is a developer led early test to find bugs before wider release

Antonyms

release
590 2.9

An announcement, product, or statement made available to the public

beta test
  • Specialized
3 4.2

A trial of a new app or program by outside users before its release

How Early

alpha test
  • Specialized
1 5.3
beta test
  • Specialized
3 4.2

Surface Forms

alpha test singular
alpha tests plural

Morphology

alpha + test

The meaning 'preliminary test' is directly derivable from combining 'alpha' (first/initial stage) with 'test' (an activity to check performance). This composition follows a straightforward semantic pattern (first-stage test) and is commonly used cross-linguistically in software contexts, so a learner who knows the constituents would understand it.

Etymology

Alpha test comes from alpha, the first Greek letter, and test, a trial, so it gives the image of a 'first trial'. One popular idea is that developers called their very early internal checks an alpha test before public 'beta' trials, so today it means 'a preliminary test done by the developers'.