The phrase serves as a clear instruction to disregard a specific application used solely for evaluation or experimental purposes. It signals that the application’s data, functionality, or presence within a larger system is not intended for production environments or end-user interaction. For instance, a developer might label a pre-release version of an application in this manner to prevent confusion or accidental utilization by those outside the testing group.
Employing such a designation is vital for maintaining data integrity and preventing inaccurate results in production systems. It avoids potentially disrupting live services with unfinished code or inaccurate information. Historically, similar labels or flags have been used in software development to differentiate between stable and unstable versions, allowing developers to implement features incrementally while mitigating risks associated with premature deployment.