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ECE/CS Seminar: Controlled Experiments: An indispensable tool for modern developers

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Tuesday, November 20, 2018
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Jennifer Beckmann, Principal Engineering Manager for the Microsoft Office Experimentation team
ECE/CS Seminar

Controlled experiments, or A/B tests, are the gold standard for optimizing websites. From Amazon's checkout flow to Google's search results, A/B tests can help companies improve workflows to download software, sign-up for subscriptions, click on content, or make a purchase. But, controlled experiments have roots far beyond optimizing websites for conversion. In its simplest form, controlled experiments help establish a causal relationship of a change for a target audience.

Microsoft takes the basics of controlled experiments, and applies the concept in unsuspecting places to help software development teams restructure the way they think about shipping even the most mundane changes. This talk will give you a flavor of how Microsoft products like Bing, Office, and Xbox to weave controlled experiments into the day-to-day software engineering processes. From trusting the data to using it to make backlog decisions, you will learn how controlled experiments are an essential tool to making informed decisions at Microsoft.