Testing, research and freelance glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms used across app testing, user research, micro-tasks and genuine marketing.
- Beta testing
- Releasing a pre-release version of an app or product to a limited group of real users to find problems before public launch.
- Bug report
- A description of a software problem with steps to reproduce, expected and actual results, evidence and device details.
- Closed testing
- A Google Play Console release track where only invited testers can install an app before it is publicly available.
- Crowdtesting
- Testing a product with many real users on their own devices, coordinated through a platform, instead of only an internal QA team.
- Data labelling
- Tagging images, text, audio or products with categories so the data can be organised or used to train AI systems.
- Evidence
- Screenshots, screen recordings, files or answers a tester submits to prove a task was completed as instructed.
- Influencer marketing
- Paying or gifting creators to feature a product to their own audience, with the post disclosed as an ad or paid partnership.
- Localization testing
- Checking that translated versions of an app or website display correctly and use the right words for each market.
- Micro-task
- A short, well-defined piece of digital work that can be completed quickly and checked against clear instructions.
- Mystery shopping
- Making a real purchase or enquiry with a business to evaluate and report on the customer experience.
- Product validation
- Testing an idea, prototype or MVP with target users to check it solves a real problem before investing further.
- Real-device testing
- Testing on physical phones, tablets and computers rather than emulators or simulators.
- Reputation management
- Monitoring and improving how a business is seen online, including collecting genuine reviews and replying to them.
- Screener question
- A question used before a study to check a participant matches the target audience.
- Task success rate
- The share of participants who complete a given task in a usability test.
- UGC (user-generated content)
- Photos and videos of real people using a product, created for the brand's own marketing channels.
- Usability testing
- Watching real users attempt specific tasks with a product to find where they struggle.
- User research
- Studying a product's target users through surveys, interviews and tests to understand their needs and behaviour.
- UX feedback
- Opinions from users about design, copy, navigation and overall experience.
- Wallet
- The balance in a tester or freelancer's TestLancer account where approved rewards are credited before payout.