Google Optimize Sunsets
Experimental Mind #173
Your weekly overview of interesting reads you might have missed + events and jobs for the experimental mind (that’s you). Everything is handpicked by me, so you don’t have to.
Google has announced that Google Optimize will be ending on September 30, 2023. Although Google has stated that it will integrate A/B testing capabilities into Google Analytics 4, no further details have been provided at this time. The discontinuation of Google Optimize will likely lead to a surge in competition among vendors, as they ramp up their offerings in an effort to capture a piece of the market.
Are you using Google Optimize right now? I recommend that everyone approach this transition as a joint effort with colleagues from the technology department. This is an opportunity to select a new solution and fully integrate experimentation capabilities across internal systems.
Enjoy and have a great week!
* Considering a career move?
Recruiter Mimi VerLoren van Themaat: “Effective communication is a vital skill in any profession, and higlighting your communication skills in a job interview can give you a competitive edge”. Here are her four tips.
🔎 Interesting reads you might have missed
Google’s announcement about sunsetting Google Optimize
”We launched Google Optimize over 5 years ago to enable businesses of all sizes to easily test and improve your user experiences. We remain committed to enabling businesses of all sizes to improve your user experiences and are investing in A/B testing in Google Analytics 4.”Paper: Statistical Challenges in Online Controlled Experiments
Running experiments at scale has presented challenges that required new statistical methodologies. This paper reviews these challenges and discusses the practice and culture of online experimentation, as well as its statistical literature.New course ‘Accelerating Innovation with A/B Testing’ with Ronny Kohavi
Next Monday (Jan 31st) a new cohort of Ronny’s popular course starts. This is a great opportunity to really go deep on experimentation and be able to interact with the leading expert in the field. Enroll via this link and get a $50 Amazon gift card for free.A Selected History of Quantitative Causal Inference
I’ve been enjoying Scott Cunningham’s three part series on the origin of the field of experimentation and causal inference:
”This first part discusses the philosophical and statistical origins of the potential outcomes model, as well as its historical link to the randomized experiment. Some of you may know this by heart, but I still think it’s a good essay to give to new students who are learning causal inference for the first time …” See also part two and three.Did booking.com and Amazon experiment from the beginning?
According to the official records: no. Amazon and Booking.com have been experimenting at scale, it took them 7-8 years to begin testing after their websites launched, at least that’s is what is publicly available. Only people with inside information will really now.Jobs-To-Be-Done canvas 2.0
There is an updated canvas available. “It’s an innovation framework to help you listen to your market in a whole new way and really understand what people are trying to accomplish — independent of you and your product.”
🚀 Job opportunities
You can find more than 93 jobs on ExperimentationJobs.com. These jobs are from all over the world, on-site, fully remote or hybrid. Take a look and find your next move.
This week's featured roles:
🆕 Sr. CRO Manager at IU Internationale Hochschule (remote or Hamburg, Germany)
🆕 Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) Analyst at The AA (London, UK)
🆕 Product Manager, Consumer Growth at Grammarly (Berlin, Germany)
🆕 Conversion Specialist at Incubeta (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
Digital Experience Executive – Experimentation at Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong)
Are you hiring? Submit here
📅 Upcoming events
30 Jan: Accelerating Innovation with A/B Testing (virtual)
31 Jan – 4 Feb: SUPERWEEK (Hungary)
6-8 Feb: Quantum Leap (Austin, USA & virtual)
See all experimentation related conferences & events 2023.
💬 Quote of the week
“Experiment, experiment, experiment – until it finally flows from within you. It is a hard road. But the result is also a deep inner satisfaction.”
— Jack Dickerson
😄 Fun of the week
Shiva Manjunath shared his ‘Excuses Not to Test’ calendar for 2023. Even better than last year.
📞 Let’s talk
Would you like to talk about an experimentation related topic or simply catch up? I have now hooked up my calendar to Cal.com which makes it really easy for you to schedule a call with me. Try it out. We can talk about whatever you like.
👍 Thanks for reading
If you’re enjoying the Experimental Mind newsletter please share this email with a friend or colleague. Looking for inspiration how to best do that? Take a look at what others are saying. Have a great week — and keep experimenting.
For #5: Did booking.com and Amazon experiment from the beginning?
The dates are wrong, which impacts the key claim. See https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ronnyk_theres-an-article-on-the-surprising-truth-activity-7023201886606397440-ZOVO?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop