Reality check

имя существительное проверка в реальных условиях; проверка, как обстоит дело в действительности Например: Fill in your choices and then get ready for a reality check! — Выберите ответы и приготовьтесь к проверке того, как обстоит дело в реальности.

Большой англо-русский словарь

Reality check

noun something that clarifies or serves as a reminder of reality often by correcting a misconception

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

Reality check

The simplest kind of functional test of software or hardware; doing the equivalent of asking it what 2 + 2 is and seeing if it says four. The software equivalent of a smoke test. A reality check may include letting a real user try out prototype software. A sanity check is even more basic, the equivalent of checking that the above addition was implemented with an addition operator rather than subtraction.

Free Online Dictionary of Computing