December 16, 2025

Happy Tuesday, today’s smart brevity count is: 1035 words, 3.25 mins. Edited by Nils Koppelmann.

This week's focus: Experimentation as an operating system

In today's newsletter, we will go over:

1. Strategic: Experimentation as an operating system
2. Your new job in experimentation?
3. 2025 is a wrap – recap + lookout

Excited? Read on.

1 big thing: Why your experiment wins aren't sticking (and it's not the platform's fault)

Strategic Insights for Experimentation Leaders

I've been thinking about Jonny Longden's post this week – the one where he frames experimentation as an operating system rather than just a tool. And honestly? It clicked something into place that's been bothering me for months.

Here's the thing: experimentation isn't just what we do, it's the entire how of modern growth work. It's the platform. The operating system, if you will. And just like any OS, there are different ways to configure it ... some that work brilliantly, and some that quietly strangle your team's ability to actually move fast.

This systems thinking approach breaks down beautifully:

• Faster feedback loops
• Smaller, high-agency teams with actual leverage
• Flatter organizations
• Organizations that become problem-solving machines instead of feature factories

When you map this to the actual tools you use daily, it looks like three distinct layers.

1. Growth Experimentation System – Airtable, Jira, ConversionLab​
2. Platform Layer – whatever you use to run experiments e.g. Optimizely, Kameleoon, ...
3. Your Product + Data Stack

But here's what I keep seeing in orgs: we obsess over layers two and three. We debate platform features, argue about statistical engines, optimize our data pipelines. Meanwhile, that top layer? Barely there. People get dropped into roles with zero context about the problems that actually matter. And without that context – without the authority to ask real questions, collect meaningful data, and make decisions based on what they learn – we lose the entire point.

No amount of sophisticated tooling fixes an agency problem. I learned this the hard way watching teams with perfect infrastructure still move like molasses because no one knew what problems they were supposed to be solving (I know I keep going on about this) ... or felt empowered to act on what they discovered.

The operating system only works when all three layers are actually there and used.

Post was inspired by Ben Labay & Jonny Longdon's posts e.g. this and this.

2. Your new job in experimentation?

This week’s featured roles:

• ​Senior AI Transformation Manager at Miro (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
• ​Marketing Attribution Experimentation Analyst at Vanguard (USA)
• ​Senior Media Experimentation Manager – Digital Media at Zalando (Berlin, Germany)
• ​eCommerce Conversion Rate Optimisation at VANS (Stabio, Switzerland)
• ​Senior Product Manager II at Strava (Berlin, Germany)

Couldn't find a job that's interesting to you? Check out more here.

3. 2025 is a wrap

This is typically where I'd put the events of the current year, but instead of listing countless x-mas parties (😉) I wanted to write a short recap of what events I attended this year and what is in the plans for 2026.

Recap – Events I attended

Other than in previous years in 2026 I had to prioritize what events to go to, primarily due to time constraints and the mental tax of constantly being on the road.

• I went to 2 Berlin Experimentation Meetups (in February and May) and still vividly remember one specific talk by Aurora Moreno Herrera from HelloFresh about The Metric-Driven Playbook for Scaling Experimentation which definitely inspired my work this year.
• Attended GMS – Growth Minded Superheroes for the second time and loved every second of it. Apart from the talks two activities stayed in dear memory: the pre-event run through Frankfurt and the LEGO Workshop in between sessions that sparked a deep conversation.
• Was invited to join the first installment of FoX – Future of Experimentation in Porto. Going in I had zero idea what was about as the program was mysterious (seriously, there was no known agenda apart from when lunch & dinner would be) but was pleasantly surprised by the format and how it was facilitated organized. While I'm still not entirely certain what the future will hold – I guess that's just part of the deal – I'm glad I joined and would certainly join again.
• Dare I say it? I once again also signed up and attended Conversion Hotel. A few days prior to the conference I felt like not going as prior travel that year had worn on me, but boy am I glad I went. The moment I entered the jungle of Opduin Hotel (this year had a jungle theme) all my hesitation went away and once again turned out to be the best event of the year. Favorite talk surprisingly was not about experimentation ... it was about typography.

Lookout – Events coming up in 2026

February 24th 2026, Intent in a (bigger) tent, London UK

• 350 eCommerce people sharing ideas in a tent – An event designed to help senior eCommerce brand leaders push boundaries. All in a big, warm, welcoming tent on February 24th 2026 in London.

March 17th 2026, Conversionboost, Copenhagen DK

• a single-track, English CRO & experimentation conference: 8 speakers, ~200 attendees, lunch/drinks included, plus a post-event hangout.

May 11th & 12th 2026, Speero Circus, London UK

• "A Festival Vibe, Not Another Beige Conference Room Event" – a two-day, festival-style AI-for-experimentation event for in-house leaders: workshops + conference day, 150+ curated roundtables, and heavy networking with a “humans-in-the-loop” focus.

June 16th 2026, Growth Minded Superheroes, Frankfurt DE

• Europe’s flagship growth & experimentation conference at Alte Oper: ~800 optimizers, hands-on talks, all-inclusive catering, and an aftershow party.

Find more events over at lu.ma/experimentation-events.

That's a wrap – until next week.

– Nils

P.S.:

If you enjoyed this, please consider sharing with a friend. If a friend sent you this, get the next newsletter by signing up here.

Also, for more resources and content follow me on LinkedIn.