4 Myths, 4 Realities About Experimentation

Experimentation isn’t as risky as it sounds. It’s not like the “experimentation” you did in college. Nor does it have to turn your customers into lab rats—potentially blowing up their online banking experience in the process.

In fact, it’s the opposite! Feature experimentation is about smarter, safer, and faster rollouts—allowing you to test, iterate, and innovate without fear.

And here’s the best part: contrary to popular belief, it’s not just for product teams or marketers; it’s a tool that empowers everyone involved in the development process. 

So, let’s roll back myths as seamlessly as toggling off problem-causing feature flags…

Myth 1: Feature Experimentation Is Only About A/B Testing

The Reality:

‍A/B testing is just one color in the full spectrum of experimentation techniques. Sure, it’s a reliable strategy, but feature experimentation also includes things like multi-variant testing, canary releases, phased rollouts, and feature flags in production.

Multi-variant testing takes A/B testing a step further, letting you test multiple variations of a feature at once. It’s great when you want to compare more than just two versions—think testing several headline styles, button designs, and colors in one go to see what sticks.

Canary releases let you roll out a new feature to a small, controlled group first, testing the waters before going in too deep. If a feature release creates an issue, you can quickly roll it back without making a splash. Similarly, phased rollouts gradually release features, starting small and scaling up to catch issues early on. Experimentation techniques like these are less about discovering your customer’s preferences and more about catching bugs before they bite. 

And, at the core of proper experimentation practices lies feature flags. These integral developer tools are the secret sauce, allowing teams to deploy code without releasing your iterations right away. It's like flipping a switch to test your experiments without disrupting the entirety of your application system. 

A/B testing? More like from A to Z testing. From testing to tweaking, from optimizing and catching issues before they escalate–experimentation is a large collection of strategies to get your software features ready for prime time. 

Myth 2: Experimentation is for Marketers and Product Management Teams

The Reality:

‍Experimentation is no longer just the domain of marketers or product managers. Today, it’s becoming a central focus for engineering teams too. According to a study of 500 engineering leaders at LeadDev, engineering teams are leading the charge in feature experimentation, reaping the benefits of direct feature-level impact measurement. In fact, 42% of them say that experimentation is becoming a central responsibility of their engineering team. And, the teams who excel in this area have one thing in common: the ability to measure impact at the feature level.

So why is engineering stepping up? Feature flags with built-in measurement have made things much more efficient. It started with smarter release monitoring—alerts that show you exactly which flag is causing issues. From there, the leap to experimentation was natural. Now, you can test and gather feedback using the same infrastructure, speeding up your iteration and reducing risk.

Myth 3: Experimentation Slows You Down

The Reality:

‍You might think that experimentation introduces unnecessary complexity and delays. But the truth is, when done right, it speeds things up! With the right tools in place, you can monitor gradual rollouts in real-time, knowing exactly when to ramp up or roll back. If things are going well, you can increase exposure faster. If things aren’t, you’ll spot issues immediately and can pivot before they become larger problems.

Key takeaway: Insight early on is your friend. Using progressive delivery techniques lets you see results even when the experiment is only rolled out to a small percentage of users—say, 10%. You get fast feedback without waiting for full-scale deployment. This means going beyond a faster time to deployment, but a faster time to achieving the customer value teams desire.

The right experimentation platform makes all this possible. They tie feature flags to performance and behavioral data, enabling teams to understand the impact of every iteration—even when rolled out to just a small percentage of users. And with centralized data on a single source of truth, everyone involved in the lifecycle of a feature can be on the same page throughout the entire process.

‍Myth 4: More Experiments = More Risk

The Reality:

‍The idea that experimentation increases risk is actually a misconception. In fact, it reduces risk. With methods like canary releases and production tests, you can monitor real-time performance in a live environment without exposing your entire user base to potential issues. If something’s going wrong, you can catch it early—and make corrections fast.

Look at the case of Sonos, where a major launch without experimentation led to a massive loss of customers, revenue, and a company-wide fear of innovation. A fear that experimentation actually helps solve! When you experiment, you get psychological safety. Teams know they can innovate without the weight of a major release crashing down on them.

In fact, experimentation fosters a culture of fearless innovation—where failure is just another opportunity to learn and improve. By measuring features individually and using real-time data, you can move forward with confidence, knowing you’re making the right decisions.

Experimentation Isn’t a Trend; It’s a Necessary Part of Software Delivery 

Feature experimentation isn’t just a trend—it’s becoming the backbone of modern software development. Whether you’re rolling out a new feature, testing your latest design, or just trying to figure out how to get your product to perform better, experimentation gives you the tools to do it safely, efficiently, and with a lot less risk.

By debunking these myths and embracing the realities, you’ll find that experimentation not only helps you move faster—it empowers your team to innovate boldly. And with the right tools, you can test, learn, and iterate without the fear of failure.

To learn more about how experimentation tools can help, be sure to check out Flagship 2025. There’s an on-demand thought leadership session dedicated to moving past guesswork toward a more insight-based approach. Watch it here.