What type of testing occurs after the preliminary testing stage?

Beta testing is the correct stage that follows preliminary testing. At this stage, the software or application has passed initial tests conducted by developers and is now made available to a limited group of end-users for evaluation in a real-world environment. This helps identify any remaining issues and gather feedback on the product's usability, functionality, and performance.

The importance of beta testing lies in its focus on real user interaction, which can reveal problems that weren't caught during earlier testing phases. It allows developers to make adjustments before the final product release based on actual user experiences, which is crucial for ensuring a polished and user-friendly final product. Beta testing typically includes a wider audience than alpha testing, which is primarily conducted within the organization developing the product.

On the other hand, alpha testing is usually the first formal test of the software conducted in-house. Final testing and acceptance testing are terms that can sometimes refer to stages closer to or at the end of the development cycle, but they do not specifically represent the phase that comes directly after preliminary testing. Thus, beta testing accurately describes the next phase in this context.