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Exp Driven Dev Skill for Claude

Builds features with A/B testing in mind using Ronny Kohavi's frameworks and Netflix/Airbnb experimentation culture. Use when implementing feature flags, choosing metrics, designing experiments, or building for fast iteration. Focuses on guardrail metrics, statistical significance, and experiment-driven development.

2k tokens
context cost
the whole folder, loaded on every use
1
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instructions only
0
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how many repositories repackaged it
385
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on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository
npx skills add https://github.com/menkesu/awesome-pm-skills --skill exp-driven-dev

The instruction itself

26 sections, as written by the author

Experimentation-Driven Development

When This Skill Activates

Claude uses this skill when:

  • Building new features that affect core metrics
  • Implementing A/B testing infrastructure
  • Making data-driven decisions
  • Setting up feature flags for gradual rollouts
  • Choosing which metrics to track

Core Frameworks

1. Experiment Design (Source: Ronny Kohavi, Microsoft/Netflix)

The HITS Framework:

H - Hypothesis:

> "We believe that [change] will cause [metric] to [increase/decrease] because [reason]"

I - Implementation:

  • Feature flag setup
  • Treatment vs control
  • Sample size calculation

T - Test:

  • Run for statistical significance
  • Monitor guardrail metrics
  • Watch for unexpected effects

S - Ship or Stop:

  • Ship if positive
  • Stop if negative
  • Iterate if inconclusive

Example:

Hypothesis:
"We believe that adding social proof ('X people bought this') 
will increase conversion rate by 10% 
because it reduces purchase anxiety."

Implementation:
- Control: No social proof
- Treatment: Show "X people bought"
- Sample size: 10,000 users per variant
- Duration: 2 weeks

Test:
- Primary metric: Conversion rate
- Guardrails: Cart abandonment, return rate

Ship or Stop:
- If conversion +5% or more → Ship
- If conversion -2% or less → Stop
- If inconclusive → Iterate and retest

2. Metric Selection

Primary Metric:

  • ONE metric you're trying to move
  • Directly tied to business value
  • Clear success threshold

Guardrail Metrics:

  • Metrics that shouldn't degrade
  • Prevent gaming the system
  • Ensure quality maintained

Example:

Feature: Streamlined checkout

Primary Metric:
✅ Purchase completion rate (+10%)

Guardrail Metrics:
⚠️ Cart abandonment (don't increase)
⚠️ Return rate (don't increase)
⚠️ Support tickets (don't increase)
⚠️ Load time (stay <2s)

3. Statistical Significance

The Math:

Minimum sample size = (Effect size, Confidence, Power)

Typical settings:
- Confidence: 95% (p < 0.05)
- Power: 80% (detect 80% of real effects)
- Effect size: Minimum detectable change

Example:
- Baseline conversion: 10%
- Minimum detectable effect: +1% (to 11%)
- Required: ~15,000 users per variant

Common Mistakes:

  • ❌ Stopping test early (peeking bias)
  • ❌ Running too short (seasonal effects)
  • ❌ Too many variants (dilutes sample)
  • ❌ Changing test mid-flight

4. Feature Flag Architecture

Implementation:

// Feature flag pattern
function checkoutFlow(user) {
  if (isFeatureEnabled(user, 'new-checkout')) {
    return newCheckoutExperience();
  } else {
    return oldCheckoutExperience();
  }
}

// Gradual rollout
function isFeatureEnabled(user, feature) {
  const rolloutPercent = getFeatureRollout(feature);
  const userBucket = hashUserId(user.id) % 100;
  return userBucket < rolloutPercent;
}

// Experiment assignment
function assignExperiment(user, experiment) {
  const variant = consistentHash(user.id, experiment);
  track('experiment_assigned', {
    userId: user.id,
    experiment: experiment,
    variant: variant
  });
  return variant;
}

Decision Tree: Should We Experiment?

NEW FEATURE
│
├─ Affects core metrics? ──────YES──→ EXPERIMENT REQUIRED
│  NO ↓
│
├─ Risky change? ──────────────YES──→ EXPERIMENT RECOMMENDED
│  NO ↓
│
├─ Uncertain impact? ──────────YES──→ EXPERIMENT USEFUL
│  NO ↓
│
├─ Easy to A/B test? ─────────YES──→ WHY NOT EXPERIMENT?
│  NO ↓
│
└─ SHIP WITHOUT TEST ←────────────────┘
   (But still feature flag for rollback)

Action Templates

Template 1: Experiment Spec

# Experiment: [Name]

## Hypothesis
**We believe:** [change]
**Will cause:** [metric] to [increase/decrease]
**Because:** [reasoning]

## Variants

### Control (50%)
[Current experience]

### Treatment (50%)
[New experience]

## Metrics

### Primary Metric
- **What:** [metric name]
- **Current:** [baseline]
- **Target:** [goal]
- **Success:** [threshold]

### Guardrail Metrics
- **Metric 1:** [name] - Don't decrease
- **Metric 2:** [name] - Don't increase
- **Metric 3:** [name] - Maintain

## Sample Size
- **Users needed:** [X per variant]
- **Duration:** [Y days]
- **Confidence:** 95%
- **Power:** 80%

## Implementation

if (experiment('feature-name') === 'treatment') {

// New experience

} else {

// Old experience

}


## Success Criteria
- [ ] Primary metric improved by [X]%
- [ ] No guardrail degradation
- [ ] Statistical significance reached
- [ ] No unexpected negative effects

## Decision
- **If positive:** Ship to 100%
- **If negative:** Rollback, iterate
- **If inconclusive:** Extend or redesign

Template 2: Feature Flag Implementation

// features.ts
export const FEATURES = {
  'new-checkout': {
    rollout: 10,  // 10% of users
    enabled: true,
    description: 'New streamlined checkout flow'
  },
  'ai-recommendations': {
    rollout: 0,  // Not live yet
    enabled: false,
    description: 'AI-powered product recommendations'
  }
};

// feature-flags.ts
export function isEnabled(userId: string, feature: string): boolean {
  const config = FEATURES[feature];
  if (!config || !config.enabled) return false;
  
  const bucket = consistentHash(userId) % 100;
  return bucket < config.rollout;
}

// usage in code
if (isEnabled(user.id, 'new-checkout')) {
  return <NewCheckout />;
} else {
  return <OldCheckout />;
}

Template 3: Experiment Dashboard

# Experiment Dashboard

## Active Experiments

### Experiment 1: [Name]
- **Status:** Running
- **Started:** [date]
- **Progress:** [X]% sample size reached
- **Primary metric:** [current result]
- **Guardrails:** ✅ All healthy

### Experiment 2: [Name]
- **Status:** Complete
- **Result:** Treatment won (+15% conversion)
- **Decision:** Ship to 100%
- **Shipped:** [date]

## Key Metrics

### Experiment Velocity
- **Experiments launched:** [X per month]
- **Win rate:** [Y]%
- **Average duration:** [Z] days

### Impact
- **Revenue impact:** +$[X]
- **Conversion improvement:** +[Y]%
- **User satisfaction:** +[Z] NPS

## Learnings
- [Key insight 1]
- [Key insight 2]
- [Key insight 3]

Quick Reference

🧪 Experiment Checklist

Before Starting:

  • [ ] Hypothesis written (believe → cause → because)
  • [ ] Primary metric defined
  • [ ] Guardrails identified
  • [ ] Sample size calculated
  • [ ] Feature flag implemented
  • [ ] Tracking instrumented

During Experiment:

  • [ ] Don't peek early (wait for significance)
  • [ ] Monitor guardrails daily
  • [ ] Watch for unexpected effects
  • [ ] Log any external factors (holidays, outages)

After Experiment:

  • [ ] Statistical significance reached
  • [ ] Guardrails not degraded
  • [ ] Decision made (ship/stop/iterate)
  • [ ] Learning documented

Real-World Examples

Example 1: Netflix Experimentation

Volume: 250+ experiments running at once

Approach: Everything is an experiment

Culture: "Strong opinions, weakly held - let data decide"

Example Test:

  • Hypothesis: Bigger thumbnails increase engagement
  • Result: No improvement, actually hurt browse time
  • Decision: Rollback
  • Learning: Saved $$ by not shipping

Example 2: Airbnb's Experiments

Test: New search ranking algorithm

Primary: Bookings per search

Guardrails:

  • Search quality (ratings of bookings)
  • Host earnings (don't concentrate bookings)
  • Guest satisfaction

Result: +3% bookings, all guardrails healthy → Ship


Example 3: Stripe's Feature Flags

Approach: Every feature behind flag

Benefits:

  • Instant rollback (flip flag)
  • Gradual rollout (1% → 5% → 25% → 100%)
  • Test in production safely

Example:

if (experiments.isEnabled('instant-payouts')) {
  return <InstantPayouts />;
}

Common Pitfalls

❌ Mistake 1: Peeking Too Early

Problem: Stopping test before statistical significance

Fix: Calculate sample size upfront, wait for it

❌ Mistake 2: No Guardrails

Problem: Gaming the metric (increase clicks but hurt quality)

Fix: Always define guardrails

❌ Mistake 3: Too Many Variants

Problem: Not enough users per variant

Fix: Limit to 2-3 variants max

❌ Mistake 4: Ignoring External Factors

Problem: Holiday spike looks like treatment effect

Fix: Note external events, extend duration


  • metrics-frameworks - For choosing right metrics
  • growth-embedded - For growth experiments
  • ship-decisions - For when to ship vs test more
  • strategic-build - For deciding what to test

Key Quotes

Ronny Kohavi:

> "The best way to predict the future is to run an experiment."

Netflix Culture:

> "Strong opinions, weakly held. Let data be the tie-breaker."

Airbnb:

> "We trust our intuition to generate hypotheses, and we trust data to make decisions."


Further Learning

  • references/experiment-design-guide.md - Complete methodology
  • references/statistical-significance.md - Sample size calculations
  • references/feature-flags-implementation.md - Code examples
  • references/guardrail-metrics.md - Choosing guardrails

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