BANK OF AMERICA CASE STUDY-HBR

At the end of the case, the I&D Program is facing a decision on how to proceed further? The decision highlights the whether the I&D should add to the number of branches and also "parameter" as the so called "failure rate". Please propose a recommendation to Brady on both fronts and provide reasoning why?

"Next, Brady explained how the bank's senior leadership had offered the group yet another 'reward' of additional branches across the country. These branches could expand experimentation capacity by some 40%-60% and take the strain off the 25 branches that were piling up so many experiments. But only about half the team responded to the news with smilesjust as Brady and Butler had expected. The team had debated almost since inception the use of external control branches from North Carolina or even other Mid-Atlantic or East Coast regions. Some felt that geography did not matter in this Internet age, as long as demographics, customer profiles, and size of banking centers were comparable. Others, such as Stanwick, disagreed: 'The prospect of using, say, North Carolina branches as controls for our Atlanta Innovation and Development Market scares me to death'."

"Those in favor of taking on the new branches pointed to the limited experimentation capacity and the increasing testing backlog."

"Those against taking on the additional branches argued that the current 25 branches (or even fewer) in the portfolio were optimal."