The Future of Experimentation: A Research Agenda Based on Practitioners’ Reflections

Nils Stotz; Kevin Anderson; Paul Drews

doi:10.1007/978-3-032-22375-3_7

The Future of Experimentation: A Research Agenda Based on Practitioners’ Reflections

Nils Stotz
, Kevin Anderson^*
, Paul Drews

^*Korrespondierende/r Autor/-in für diese Arbeit

Leuphana Universität Lüneburg

Publikation: Beiträge in Sammelwerken › Aufsätze in Konferenzbänden › Forschung › Begutachtung

Abstract

Experimentation has become a cornerstone of agile, evidence-driven software development. To explore how it may evolve in the coming decade, we collected qualitative data from 58 experts across the global experimentation community. Using an inductive thematic analysis inspired by the Gioia methodology, we identified six interrelated trends that capture how practitioners envision the future of experimentation: AI-augmented workflows, segment-level personalization, platformization and warehouse-native architectures, expansion beyond web contexts, rigor at scale, and cultural capability building. These trends highlight experimentation’s evolution from a technical testing practice toward a socio-technical learning system. Building on these insights, the paper outlines a practice-inspired research agenda for the next decade of evidence-based product development.

Originalsprache	Englisch
Titel	Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming : 27th International Conference on Agile Software Development, XP 2026, Proceedings
Redakteure/-innen	Alfredo Goldman, Sabrina Marczak, Graziela Simone Tonin, Dairton Bassi, Tiago Silva da Silva, Eva-Maria Schön, Michael Neumann, Andrea Pinna
Seitenumfang	9
Herausgeber (Verlag)	Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland
Erscheinungsdatum	2026
Seiten	109-117
ISBN (Print)	978-3-032-22374-6
ISBN (elektronisch)	978-3-032-22375-3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-22375-3_7
Publikationsstatus	Erschienen - 2026
Veranstaltung	27th International Conference on Agile Software Development - XP 2026 - Insper Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa, São Paulo, Brasilien Dauer: 08.04.2026 → 11.04.2026 Konferenznummer: 27 https://conf.researchr.org/home/xp-2026 https://doi.org/10.25798/6zfb-8q95

Bibliographische Notiz

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2026.

Fachgebiete und Schlagwörter

Wirtschaftsinformatik

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Management-Informationssysteme
Steuerungs- und Systemtechnik
Betriebswirtschaft und Internationales Management
Information systems
Modellierung und Simulation
Informationssysteme und -management

Zugriff auf Dokument

10.1007/978-3-032-22375-3_7Lizenz: CC BY

Dieses zitieren

Stotz, N., Anderson, K., & Drews, P. (2026). The Future of Experimentation: A Research Agenda Based on Practitioners’ Reflections. in A. Goldman, S. Marczak, G. S. Tonin, D. Bassi, T. Silva da Silva, E.-M. Schön, M. Neumann, & A. Pinna (Hrsg.), Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming: 27th International Conference on Agile Software Development, XP 2026, Proceedings (S. 109-117). (Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing; Band 578 LNBIP). Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-22375-3_7

Stotz, Nils ; Anderson, Kevin ; Drews, Paul. / The Future of Experimentation : A Research Agenda Based on Practitioners’ Reflections. Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming: 27th International Conference on Agile Software Development, XP 2026, Proceedings. Hrsg. / Alfredo Goldman ; Sabrina Marczak ; Graziela Simone Tonin ; Dairton Bassi ; Tiago Silva da Silva ; Eva-Maria Schön ; Michael Neumann ; Andrea Pinna. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland, 2026. S. 109-117 (Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing).

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abstract = "Experimentation has become a cornerstone of agile, evidence-driven software development. To explore how it may evolve in the coming decade, we collected qualitative data from 58 experts across the global experimentation community. Using an inductive thematic analysis inspired by the Gioia methodology, we identified six interrelated trends that capture how practitioners envision the future of experimentation: AI-augmented workflows, segment-level personalization, platformization and warehouse-native architectures, expansion beyond web contexts, rigor at scale, and cultural capability building. These trends highlight experimentation{\textquoteright}s evolution from a technical testing practice toward a socio-technical learning system. Building on these insights, the paper outlines a practice-inspired research agenda for the next decade of evidence-based product development.",

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author = "Nils Stotz and Kevin Anderson and Paul Drews",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2026.; 27th International Conference on Agile Software Development - XP 2026, XP 2026 ; Conference date: 08-04-2026 Through 11-04-2026",

year = "2026",

doi = "10.1007/978-3-032-22375-3\_7",

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Stotz, N, Anderson, K & Drews, P 2026, The Future of Experimentation: A Research Agenda Based on Practitioners’ Reflections. in A Goldman, S Marczak, GS Tonin, D Bassi, T Silva da Silva, E-M Schön, M Neumann & A Pinna (Hrsg.), Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming: 27th International Conference on Agile Software Development, XP 2026, Proceedings. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, Bd. 578 LNBIP, Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland, S. 109-117, 27th International Conference on Agile Software Development - XP 2026, São Paulo, Brasilien, 08.04.26. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-22375-3_7

The Future of Experimentation: A Research Agenda Based on Practitioners’ Reflections. / Stotz, Nils; Anderson, Kevin; Drews, Paul.
Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming: 27th International Conference on Agile Software Development, XP 2026, Proceedings. Hrsg. / Alfredo Goldman; Sabrina Marczak; Graziela Simone Tonin; Dairton Bassi; Tiago Silva da Silva; Eva-Maria Schön; Michael Neumann; Andrea Pinna. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland, 2026. S. 109-117 (Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing; Band 578 LNBIP).

Publikation: Beiträge in Sammelwerken › Aufsätze in Konferenzbänden › Forschung › Begutachtung

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T3 - Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing

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Stotz N, Anderson K, Drews P. The Future of Experimentation: A Research Agenda Based on Practitioners’ Reflections. in Goldman A, Marczak S, Tonin GS, Bassi D, Silva da Silva T, Schön EM, Neumann M, Pinna A, Hrsg., Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming: 27th International Conference on Agile Software Development, XP 2026, Proceedings. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland. 2026. S. 109-117. (Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing). doi: 10.1007/978-3-032-22375-3_7