Stefan Thomke: The power of experimentation in the digital era

Abstract

Purpose In this interview with Harvard innovation expert Stefan H.Thomke about his latest book, Experimentation Works: The Surprising Power of Business Experiments, he pays tribute to the scientific method and “the engine that has powered” it over the centuries, the “humble experiment.” Design/methodology/approach Professor Thomke anticipates a burgeoning role for business experimentation, one that it is already playing across the value chain, particularly in leading online companies. Findings Digital experimentation tools have the potential to revolutionize a company’s R&D, but they can also transform entire industries by shifting experimentation–and thus product innovation–to users and customers. Practical implications The ability to access large customer samples, to automatically collect huge amounts of data about user interactions on websites and apps, and to run concurrent experiments gives companies an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate many ideas quickly, with great precision, and at a negligible cost per additional experiment. Originality/value Product development is being transformed by rapid experimentation: all aspects of software–including user interfaces, security applications and back-end changes–can now be subjected to A/B tests.