In a contest sponsored and judged by Google, entrants were invited to design the best new feature for Google Website Optimizer™. On November 11, 2008, Google announced that VKI Studios had won first prize with its suggestion of an “Integrated Experiment Duration Calculator”.
Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) November 20, 2008 – The competition was tough, but VKI Studios landed first prize.
The contest was to design the best new feature for Google Website Optimizer’s online experimentation tool. It was sponsored by Google and judged at the WOAC (Website Optimizer Authorized Consultant) Summit at Google’s Mountain View headquarters on November 11, 2008.
In its original announcement of the contest via email on October 30, 2008, Google stated:
“This is your chance to design your own feature for Google Website Optimizer. We'll select the top five entries to present to our panel of judges and your fellow WOACs.”
“The judges will review all submissions and pick the top five. If you've been selected to present we'll notify you on Thursday, November 6th. Presenters need to prepare a 5-minute pitch for their feature to be given at the WOAC Summit on 11/11.”
Google further stipulated that the new feature should help move the business forward. Priorities included:
- Making it easier for people to run their first experiment
- Get more people to test more often
Other criteria included:
- Increase the percentage of users who sign up and launch an experiment
- Reduce the time it takes to implement an experiment
- Make it easy for small businesses to start testing
Entries were judged on:
- Business Impact
- Feasibility
- Awesomeness
The winning feature – conceived and presented by Neal McGann of VKI Studios – was a built-in Experiment Duration Calculator.
Such a calculator already exists within Google’s online resources. But it is not integrated into the Google Website Optimizer tool. Neal McGann’s suggestion was to make the calculator much more useful by integrating it directly into the tool.
When the feature suggested by VKI Studios is implemented, those new to Google Website Optimizer will more easily be able to determine the impact their test choices will have on their experiment’s duration.
This is important, because many new users of Google Website Optimizer do not fully appreciate how much impact their choice of experimental options will have on the duration of their experiments. Many make the mistake of trying to answer all their questions in one test, which typically requires a multivariate test with several different variables.
With an experiment length calculator integrated directly into Google Website Optimizer, new and veteran users are much more likely to launch experiments that can produce statistically relevant results in a more reasonable timeframe. This will allow users to conduct more experiments more often and thereby more fully enjoy the incredible potential benefits offered by Google Website Optimizer.
In addition to bragging rights, VKI Studios scooped up the first prize of $1,500 in Google AdWords™ advertising.
References:
Google Website Optimizer Services
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