Jim and Tom are having a discussion about focus groups. Jim says:

"A/B testing just screams "lowest common denominator" to me. Much like focus group testing, this kind of thing just produces and enforces mediocrity. Call me elitist, but I would sooner have one or more people who really know what they're doing - based on years of proven experience, not just a piece of software. As a designer with 25+ years experience, I know from experience that design by committee/consensus is usually a watered-down, wishy-washy disaster. An individual would be more likely to take a risk on something crazy that just MIGHT work than a machine that is PROGRAMMED to only go with a sure thing".

Tom replies: "THat's interesting, Jim, I've been thinking about this too".

Discuss merits and demerits of this viewpoint.

• Do you agree with the comparison to focus groups? Why or why not?
• Do you agree with the critique of A/B testing? Why or Why not?
• Discuss a recent example of successful A/B testing