Terms related to data · 3.2.14
test data
data used to judge how a finished model performs
What this term settles
The definition fixes what test data means inside this vocabulary and, just as usefully, where the boundary sits. A reader who means something wider or narrower is using a different term and should say so.
Who it binds
Nothing here creates an obligation by itself, and the obligation for test data arrives when the firm writes the term into a control, a specification or a purchase order.
What to do in your practice
Take the firm's own definition of test data, put it beside this one and mark the differences. Each difference is either a deliberate local choice or an inconsistency to fix.
Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for
- A controlled vocabulary entry for test data with the citation 3.2.14, an owner and a review date.An auditor can check that test data is controlled rather than assumed.
- A data inventory field that records the entry for each dataset used in training or operation. The row names test data.Shows test data in use in the artefact the firm relies on, not only in a glossary.
- A data quality record with the check, the date and the person who signed it off. The record carries the test data entry and its date.The data inventory is organised by system rather than by dataset, so the same data is described twice with different labels. The gap is tested against test data.
Common gaps this page catches
- test data is used in the data record behind every AI system without a written definition, so two teams can mean different things.
- The entry for test data exists in a glossary but not in the system record, so the two disagree at the point of use.
What to prepare before the amendment lands
Add the entry to the register, give it an owner and a review date, and test it against one live artefact this week. The test is the evidence; the register row alone is not.
How to test it here
Take one live artefact rather than a template, find the sentence or field where test data is used, and put this page beside it. Record the answer, the artefact and the date, because that record is the evidence and a glossary entry on its own is only an intention.
What this page does not claim
The page does not reproduce the standard, certify the firm or predict the wording the amendment will use; it states test data at the claim level "definition" and stops where the public record stops.
Common questions
- What does test data mean in ISO 22989?
- data used to judge how a finished model performs
- What evidence should we keep for 3.2.14?
- A controlled vocabulary entry for test data with the citation 3.2.14, an owner and a review date. A data inventory field that records the entry for each dataset used in training or operation. The row names test data.
- Is test data a requirement?
- No: test data is a definition or clause of a terminology standard, and it becomes binding only when a firm writes it into a policy, a contract or a procedure, or when another standard incorporates it.
Related units
Source. ISO/IEC 22989:2022, Clause 3.2.14, Terms and definitions. Open the ISO public entry. Retrieved 21 October 2026.
https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/en/#iso:std:iso-iec:22989:ed-1:v1:en
ISO catalogue record 88145, the amendment status, stage and dates. Catalogue record 74296, the base standard.
Claim level: definition. The definition is in the public preview. This page states it in our own words and does not reproduce the text.
Last updated: 2026-10-21 · Markdown version · Check your vocabulary