Changing Parameters During the Experiment

Changing experiment parameters during an online controlled experiment can introduce several risks that can compromise the integrity and validity of the experiment. Here are some detailed risks associated with changing experiment parameters.

Bias Introduction

Participants who were exposed to different sets of parameters, might become aware of the feature changes, which can influence their behavior and responses, leading to unknown bias.

Inconsistent User Experience

Changing parameters might lead to inconsistent user experience, which can affect user behavior and introduce additional variability into the results.

Interpretation Challenges

Changes in parameters can lead to ambiguous results that are difficult to interpret. It becomes challenging to determine whether observed effects are due to the parameter changes or the original experiment conditions.

Replication Issues

Future replication of the experiment becomes difficult if the parameters were not consistent throughout the original experiment.