100-Day Rule of Experimentation
The 100-day rule for experimentation means that, as a general principle, the duration of the experimental phase should not exceed 100 days. (Of course, there are exceptions, such as when the experiment is conducted abroad, requiring longer preparation, or when dealing with a significantly complex, multi-stakeholder system).
Why?
- Prioritization is essential in experimentation. If an experiment requires more than 100 days, it raises the question of whether prioritization has been adequately addressed either before or during the experiment.
- Experiments should be intensive and iterative teamwork. Continuous, intense collaboration is not sustainable over a long period.
- Customer involvement is often part of the experiment. Busy customers cannot fully participate in slow-paced experimentation.
- Experiments should not go too far into implementation. Experimentation is different from testing or piloting, where solutions are already well-defined or close to their final form.
- Prolonged experiments lose their impact. People begin to view the experiment as a finalized solution, which blurs the primary purpose of experimentation.
- Extended experiments provide diminishing returns. The added value of a longer experiment is usually minor compared to a shorter one. Extending an experiment for organizational or resource-related reasons is not a sustainable justification.
- Time is money! Even in experiments, time is costly, especially when the focus is on renewing an organization or business that is already in a state of anticipation.