Table of Contents
Preface: A Tribute to the Scientific Method ix
Why I wrote the book (and why you should read it)
Understanding the power of thinking and acting scientifically
Entering a new age of large-scale business experimentation
Introduction: The Business Experimentation Imperative 1
The need for business experiments to drive innovation and profitable growth
Deploying large-scale experimentation as a businesswide practice
Brief introduction to the book's ideas and frameworks
1 Why Experimentation Works 15
The role of business experimentation in innovation
Understanding the power of tools and the experimentation process
Leveraging the operational drivers of high-velocity learning
2 What Makes a Good Business Experiment? 51
The elements of a good business experiment
Seven questions that yield better management decisions
Appreciating the limits of experimentation
3 How to Experiment Online 81
The business value of A/B testing
Leveraging the power of incremental innovation for business performance
Learning the best experimentation practices from leading digital companies
4 Can Your Culture Handle Large-Scale Experimentation? 115
The seven attributes of a true experimentation culture
Diagnosing and addressing cultural obstacles
Adopting a new management model for experimentation organizations
5 Inside an Experimentation Organization 153
The operating model of a true experimentation organization
Democratizing testing through process, management, and cultural discipline
Using technology, scale, and velocity for competitive advantage
6 Becoming an Experimentation Organization 187
The steps to becoming a true experimentation organization
Using seven system levers and the ABCDE maturity framework to analyze your situation
Deploying experimentation tools most effectively
7 Seven Myths of Business Experimentation 213
The myths that undermine experimentation and innovation
Realizing that your actions will lead to opposite reactions
Addressing fallacies that slow down progress
Epilogue: A Brief Look at the Future 225
The future of experimentation is already here
Understanding the role of AI
Adding value to automated testing and decision making
Notes 231
Selected Bibliography 249
Index 257
Acknowledgments 267
About the Author 271