What is a Winning Variation?

A winning variation in the context of online experimentation refers to a specific version or variant of a web page, email, advertisement, or any other digital asset that outperforms other variations in achieving predefined success metrics or goals. These success metrics can vary depending on the objective of the experiment, such as higher conversion rates, increased user engagement, longer session durations, faster response times, or lower cost to serve.

Variant:

In the context of online experimentation, a variant refers to any version of a digital experience being tested against other versions. Variants typically differ in one or more elements, such as layout, design, copy, color scheme, or underlying functionality. Each variant is presented to users in randomized fashion to assess its impact on user behavior and performance metrics.

Control Variation:

The control variation, often denoted as the baseline or original version, serves as the reference point against which other variants are compared. It represents the existing or default version of the digital experience being tested. The control variation helps assess the relative effectiveness of new variations by providing a benchmark for comparison.

Success Metrics:

Success metrics are quantifiable measures used to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of different variations in online experimentation. These metrics depend on the specific goals of the experiment and may include conversion rate, click-through rate, bounce rate, revenue per user, average session duration, faster response times, lower cost to serve, or any other relevant metric indicative of success.

Statistical Significance:

Statistical significance is a measure used to determine whether observed differences in performance between variations are likely due to genuine effects or simply random chance. In online experimentation, statistical significance helps ensure that results are reliable and meaningful by indicating the probability that the observed differences are not merely the result of variability or noise in the data.

Winner Declaration:

The process of declaring a winning variation involves analyzing experiment results to identify the variant that demonstrates superior performance based on predefined success metrics and statistical significance. Once a winning variation is determined, it is often implemented as the new standard version to optimize the digital experience’s performance and achieve desired business objectives.