Design an A/B test for a search ranking change
Last updated: February 12, 2026
Quick Overview
Design an experiment to test the impact of a redesigned homepage. Include sample size calculation, metrics, and analysis plan.
Instacart
February 12, 202650
5
773 solved
Design an experiment to test the impact of a redesigned homepage. Include sample size calculation, metrics, and analysis plan.
Analytics questions at Instacart evaluate your ability to define metrics, design experiments, and derive actionable insights from data. This Onsite question tests your end-to-end analytical thinking.
What the Interviewer Expects
- Design complex experimentation strategies for tricky scenarios
- Handle multi-armed bandits, switchback experiments, and quasi-experiments
- Address long-term effects vs short-term metrics
- Propose causal inference methods when randomization is not possible
- Build a measurement framework that connects metrics to business value
- Discuss organizational experimentation culture and maturity
Key Topics to Cover
How to Approach This
- Define success metrics carefully. A good metric is measurable, actionable, and aligned with business goals.
- Run experiments long enough to account for novelty effects and weekly seasonality.
- Use funnel analysis to identify where users drop off for maximum optimization impact.
- Segment results by key dimensions (platform, country, user cohort) to catch hidden patterns.
- Consider network effects and interference between treatment and control groups.
Possible Follow-up Questions
- How would you handle interference between treatment and control?
- What if the experiment shows a positive short-term effect but you suspect a negative long-term impact?
- How would you handle seasonality in your experiment?
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