The goal of this interview series is to inspire and help people to transition their career into a new or next experimentation related role. In this edition Andrea Corvi shares his journey. He is Head of Experimentation at LiveScore Group.
I would recommend approaching the job as a scientific role. There’s a wealth of knowledge to acquire across various areas, and while it can be daunting, it’s incredibly eye-opening.
Andrea Corvi
Please introduce yourself to our readers.
Ciao! I’m Andrea, Italian-born and professionally developed in the UK. I have a background in Engineering and have been working in the CRO/Experimentation industry for about 8 years.
What is your current experimentation role and what do you do?
I’m currently the Head of Experimentation at LiveScore Group.
How did you enter the experimentation space? What was your first experimentation related role? Share your origin story here.
Like many others, I entered the Experimentation field by chance. During a company reorganization, I faced the choice of relocating to another country to keep my job. One of the available roles was a CRO position in the delivery team, which I accepted without fully understanding what it entailed.
In retrospect, I believe this choice was driven by my innate curiosity. I sensed that the diverse skill set required for the role and the ambiguity of the job description could prove to be an interesting career move for me.
How did you start to learn experimentation?
I’m aware that some definitions in this space can be controversial, so let me be specific: I consider experimentation a mindset. This trait is often inherent in a person and quite challenging to teach.
What I had to learn was how to make robust, data-driven decisions in digital products. I was relatively junior when I took on the role and had limited knowledge of delivery cycles, statistical significance, A/B testing tools, and so on. This expertise came with experience over the years, learning on the job and actively upskilling through web resources, conferences, and interactions with amazing people working in the same field.
How do you apply experimentation in your personal life? (what are you tinkering with or always optimizing?)
A good example is my pizza dough and pizza oven settings. I started making my own pizza dough during lockdown and have been experimenting ever since. I’ve found a “winner” that serves as my current baseline, but I’m always trying to improve upon my current dough recipe.
What are you currently doing to keep up with the ever-changing industry?
Recently, I’ve started reading more scientific articles than in the past. This complements what I already learn from my network of colleagues and friends. Another activity I find extremely valuable is participating in roundtables or mastermind groups with like-minded professionals.
What recommendations would you give to someone who is looking to join the experimentation industry and get their first full-time position?
I would recommend approaching the job as a scientific role. There’s a wealth of knowledge to acquire across various areas, and while it can be daunting, it’s incredibly eye-opening. Success in this role isn’t just about statistics; it’s a blend of soft skills and specific knowledge encompassing product development, delivery, statistics, analytics, design, and growth.
Which developments in experimentation excite you? How do you see the field changing in the next 5 to 10 years? What will stay the same? What’s not going to change in the next ten years?
This is a fascinating question. I hope that what hasn’t changed in the past 5-10 years will evolve in the next 5-10 years. Specifically, I haven’t observed significant improvement in the average maturity of Experimentation programs in companies, at least in the UK.
This means that most job opportunities in the market involve either starting a program from scratch or taking over an early-stage program. I hope this will change and that more companies will progress to the maturity stage of their experimentation journey: this will inevitably unlock a set of different challenges to face.
Is there anything people reading this can help you with? Or any parting words?
Certainly! Earlier this year, I released my own set of advanced calculators for A/B testing, and I’d appreciate if people could try them and share their feedback. They’re free and available at: https://abtestresult.com.
Which other experimenters would you love to read an interview by?
- David Sanchez Del Real
- John Ostrowski
- Lorenzo Carreri
- Andrea Mestriner
- Javi Lipuzcoa
Thank you Andrea for sharing your journey and insights.
