Interpret mixed results across segments from an experiment
Last updated: March 13, 2026
Quick Overview
An experiment shows a 3% lift with p=0.08. What conclusions can you draw? What are the caveats?
Atlassian
March 13, 202630
7
2,199 solved
An experiment shows a 3% lift with p=0.08. What conclusions can you draw? What are the caveats?
This analytics question from Atlassian's Onsite tests your ability to think critically about data. The interviewer expects you to consider confounding variables, selection bias, and the difference between correlation and causation.
What the Interviewer Expects
- Design a rigorous experiment with proper randomization and sample size calculation
- Define primary and guardrail metrics with clear rationale
- Address novelty effects, network effects, and interference
- Segment results appropriately and identify heterogeneous treatment effects
- Propose follow-up analyses when results are ambiguous
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
- What if you discover a bug in the logging during the experiment?
- What would you do if a stakeholder wants to end the experiment early because initial results look good?
- How would you handle seasonality in your experiment?
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Browse Analytics QuestionsSample Answer
Problem Setup
The analytical question here is whether the observed 3% lift in our experiment is statistically significant and actionable, given the p-value of 0.08. To evaluate this, we need data on the sample size...
Methodology
Given the p-value of 0.08, we are on the cusp of statistical significance (typically, a threshold of 0.05 is used). To analyze the results, I would apply a two-sample proportion test to compare the co...
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