By Chris DallaVilla
There's important information in this video and here's another take on the topic at hand:
Before you got ready for your day this morning, did you check the weather? Test & Learn is the equivalent for your work. Why wear a sweater when it's too hot or just a t-shirt if it's too cold. And, why invest in a this or a this or a that if the customer isn't interested in it?
That's why you need a test and learn strategy. The new playbook requires experimentation to figure out the right ways to transform your work.
So let's talk about what validation means for a moment because this concept is at the heart of understanding where testing fits in. Validation is the idea that a business program of some sort can prove itself to achieve its objective. The video above describes the process for marketing but this can be used to assess any project, program, or initiative.
For example, you might be working on some sort of business process or new technology. If this process or this new technology is something you rely on then it's something that can be validated. And, there are two modes - validation and validated.
Validation Mode = a business program that has yet to prove itself in some way.
Validated Mode = a business program that has been proven to work.
So if you're in Validation Mode you can use testing to see if it's feasible enough to transition into Validated Mode. And, if you are in Validated Mode you can use testing to optimize.
A testing mindset and a testing process like this helps you to clearly understand what mode you are in. That's important because it's some of the information you need to clearly see how to move forward. And, the right data from your tests provides the structure to manage performance, growth, and results.
So how do you do it? You can use the circular workflow as your overall approach to establish and maintain a testing strategy.
Let's go step by step.
Step 1 = Plan
Define the objective and brainstorm some things you could test to achieve it. Once you sort through that list you have a hypothesis.
Step 2 = Act
Run the test against that hypothesis using controls for your variables.
Step 3 = Track
Gather enough data to have statistically reliable insights.
Now you're right back to step 1 providing the feedback loop that you need and with your data in hand you can now see what mode you are in and decide how to proceed.
It's easy to become a big fan of this approach because we can always improve but it can be confusing to know how. This provides a stable roadmap that can be ported to different scenarios.
Bonus tip 1 = you can use analytical reasoning to inform how you think through those different stages.
Bonus tip 2 = when you plan your tests you can start broad and get more narrow over time or you can do it the other way around.
Why is this important? It's a fundamental tool in the toolkit for transformation. And transformation is responsible for improving performance, growth, and results by 23x once you are able to successfully make the shift.
How's your Test & Learn approach? Feel free to let me know on LinkedIn or by sending a comment.
Valid provides business transformation coaching and support services for individuals and teams to accelerate performance, growth, and results including data analytics and growth marketing.
The New Playbook is a methodology that everyone can learn and use to simplify and achieve transformation - individually and at scale.
For other skills and mental models that help enable THE NEW PLAYBOOK, see our video training library here. To simplify transformation and learn THE NEW PLAYBOOK for yourself or your team, click here.
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