The Mann Whitney U Test (MWU), also known as the Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test and the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon Test, continues to be advertised as the go-to test for analyzing non-normally distributed data. In online experimentation it is often touted as the most suitable for analyses of non-binomial metrics with typically non-normal (skewed) distributions such as average […] Read more…
Have you heard how there is a much greater probability than generally expected that a statistically significant test outcome is in fact a false positive? In industry jargon: that a variant has been identified as a “winner” when it is not. In demonstrating the above the terms “False Positive Risk” (FPR), “False Findings Rate” (FFR), […] Read more…
Running shorter tests is key to improving the efficiency of experimentation as it translates to smaller direct losses from testing inferior experiences and also less unrealized revenue due to late implementation of superior ones. Despite this, many practitioners are yet to start conducting tests at the frontier of efficiency. This article presents ways to shorten […] Read more…
In A/B testing sequential tests are gradually becoming the norm due to the increased efficiency and flexibility that they grant practitioners. In most practical scenarios sequential tests offer a balance of risks and rewards superior to that of an equivalent fixed sample test. Sequential monitoring achieves this superiority by trading statistical power for the ability […] Read more…
One topic has surfaced in my ten years of developing statistical tools, consulting, and participating in discussions and conversations with CRO & A/B testing practitioners as causing the most confusion and that is statistical power and the related concept of minimum detectable effect (MDE). Some myths were previously dispelled in “Underpowered A/B Tests – Confusions, […] Read more…
What is the best design for a statistical test with sequential evaluation of the data at multiple points in time? This is a question anyone who has realized that unaccounted for peeking with intent to stop is the bane of A/B testing eventually comes to ask. So how does one go about answering that? This […] Read more…
Navigating the maze of A/B testing statistics can be challenging. This is especially true for those new to statistics and probability. One reason is the obscure terminology popping up in every other sentence. Another is that the writings can be vague, conflicting, incomplete, or simply wrong, depending on the source. Articles sprinkled with advanced math, […] Read more…
Hundreds if not thousands of books have been written about both p-values and confidence intervals (CIs) – two of the most widely used statistics in online controlled experiments. Yet, these concepts remain elusive to many otherwise well-trained researchers, including A/B testing practitioners. Misconceptions and misinterpretations abound despite great efforts from statistics educators and experimentation evangelists. […] Read more…
A full year has passed since results from the first clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines became available. Vast swaths of follow-up observational data are now in circulation which enables some conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses of those trials. Since modern medical trials are among the most rigorous and scrutinized experiments they can serve as […] Read more…
The first major overhaul of Analytics Toolkit since its release in early 2014 has finally arrived and it brings with it solutions to many of the hard questions facing practitioners when planning and analyzing A/B tests. Conducting statistically rigorous tests while achieving the best return on investment go hand in hand in the new Toolkit. […] Read more…
Many adherents of Bayesian methods put forth claims of superiority of Bayesian statistics and inference over the established frequentist approach based mainly on the supposedly intuitive nature of the Bayesian approach. Rational thinking or even human reasoning in general is Bayesian by nature according to some of them. Others argue that proper decision-making is inherently […] Read more…
(Updated Sep 2022 & Jan 2023 to include updated information about Google Analytics 4) Many analysts, marketers, product managers, UX and CRO professionals nowadays rely on user counts provided by Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, or similar tools, in order to perform various statistical analyses. Such analyses may involve the statistical hypothesis tests and estimations part […] Read more…
Take your A/B testing program to the next level
Want to take your A/B tests to the next level?
If you enjoyed this article and want to read more great content like it make sure to check out the book “Statistical Methods in Online A/B Testing” by the author, Georgi Georgiev, and take your experimentation program to the next level.