SECAI Core · phase 15 of 15 · noun

Regression testing

The process of testing an application after changes are made to see if these changes have triggered problems in older areas of code.

The Explain card

Plain English
Regression testing re-runs existing tests after a change to confirm the change has not broken things that used to work elsewhere in the system.
Example
After updating a safety filter, a team re-runs their suite of previously blocked jailbreak prompts and finds three that now slip through, catching the regression before deployment.
Why it matters
Fixes in AI systems often have side effects: tightening one filter loosens another, a new model version forgets old refusals. Regression tests are how defenders make sure yesterday's wins stay won.
Hook
Make sure the new patch did not reopen an old wound.

Word knowledge

How the word is built, where it came from, and what it sits beside in memory.

In a sentence

After updating the image classifier, engineers run regression testing against saved adversarial examples before approving the new model.

Why these words
  • regression Latin regressio, a going back modifies testing by directing attention toward earlier behavior
  • testing English test plus -ing, ultimately from Latin testum, earthen vessel serves as the head noun and names the examination activity
Where it came from
Origin
an English compound formed from regression and testing
Entered the language
20th century
What changed
Regression moved from the sense of going back to specialized scientific and computing uses, while test developed from assaying material in a vessel to systematic examination.
How it is spelled
Pattern
Regression follows the -gress to -gression pattern.
Pattern
Testing adds -ing to test without dropping or doubling a letter.
Pattern
The phrase is normally written as two separate words.

Spelled like

  • progression
  • digression
  • transgression
  • testing
Broken into chunks
  • re-
    • retest
    • recheck
  • gress
    • progress
    • digress
  • -ion
    • revision
    • inspection
  • test
    • tester
    • testable
  • -ing
    • checking
    • probing
What it sits beside

Same subject

  • adversarial testing
  • red teaming
  • robustness evaluation
  • vulnerability assessment

Same shape

  • integration testing
  • unit testing
  • acceptance testing

software testing methods

  • regression testing
  • integration testing
  • unit testing

AI security evaluation methods

  • adversarial testing
  • penetration testing
  • red teaming

Where it sits in the deck

Phase 15: MLOps, Continuous Delivery, and Operational Resilience

Close the loop — operational practices, drift management, and delivery discipline that keep deployed AI systems healthy, current, and continuously improving.

Neighbours in this phase