Summary
In her talk, Alyssa Briggs discusses the significance of experimentation as a method for problem-solving and product development. She addresses common fears regarding uncertainty and failure associated with experimentation, advocating that these feelings are valid but can be managed through iterative testing. She recounts her experience at Intuit, where initial efforts to adopt experimentation from the top down fell short until they implemented experiment coaches within teams. Briggs explains the role of experiment coaches as facilitators who embed experimentation in team culture, leading to more effective outcomes. She highlights three key practices for successful experiment coaching: leading collaborative experiment planning, leveraging results as learning opportunities, and catalyzing change by empowering teams to take ownership of experimentation. The talk includes a live demonstration where she illustrates the experiment grid for planning an experiment, showcasing the iterative process of making assumptions, formulating hypotheses, and executing tests. Ultimately, she encourages everyone to become experiment coaches, emphasizing the wide-reaching impact of a culture that embraces experimentation.
Key Insights
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Experimentation is a method for exploring ideas and assumptions in product development.
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Embracing uncertainty and accepting small failures can prevent larger catastrophic failures.
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The role of an experiment coach is crucial in embedding experimentation in team culture.
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Effective coaching involves leading collaborative planning sessions for experiments.
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Data from experiments should be used to drive future actions and decision-making.
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Teams often experience initial failure in experiments, which can be turned into learning opportunities.
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Encouraging behavior change within teams is challenging but rewarding for experiment coaches.
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Creating a culture of experimentation can lead to successful innovation and business growth.
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Experiment coaches should aim to empower team members to become coaches themselves.
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Experimentation can extend beyond products to improve internal processes and practices.
Notable Quotes
"Experimentation is really an approach to problem solving."
"If you're feeling uncertain, experimentation will help you to become more certain."
"With experimentation, you are going to fail, but in little tiny ways that don't really matter at the whole end of the day."
"You need to lead experiment planning together with the team."
"An experiment coach is someone whose job it is to get experimentation into the core of a working team."
"You want to find the cheapest and fastest way to validate that experiment."
"Help your team look the data in the face and investigate why results occurred."
"The last box on the chart needs to show what your next experiment is going to be."
"Experimentation coaching is all about changing mindsets and actions of your team."
"Anyone can be an experiment coach with just a little time and a willingness to learn."
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