Schedule experiments and experiences

  • Updated
Relevant Products:
  • Optimizely Web Experimentation
  • Optimizely Performance Edge
This topic describes how to:
  • Schedule experiments to start and stop at specific time
  • Use Optimizely's Experiment Scheduler feature

Optimizely's Experiment Scheduler lets you schedule your experiments or campaigns to start and stop them at specific times. You will receive email notifications letting you know when the experiment has been started and stopped.

The Experiment Scheduler sets beginning and ending times for your experiments based on the time zone you select. This is to avoid introducing any unwanted complexity from accounting for Daylight Savings Time. You do not have to calculate the correct GMT offset to accurately schedule your experiments.

Experiments can only be started or stopped on the hour. If you want to turn on an experiment or personalized experience only during certain times of day, use our audience conditions.

Optimizely Performance Edge is a lightweight experimentation product that delivers significantly faster performance than previous versions of Optimizely. It does this by relying on a streamlined "microsnippet" which limits the range of available features.

Optimizely Performance Edge and Optimizely Web schedule experiments the same way, so all information contained in this article applies to experiments created with either version of Optimizely.

Also, keep in mind that the Experiment Scheduler feature is available with select Optimizely packages. 

Experiment Scheduler in Optimizely Web Personalization

In Optimizely Web Personalization, you can schedule individual experiences to stop and start on certain dates with the instructions listed below:

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  1. Navigate to the Experiments dashboard. Select a campaign.

  2. In the Manage Campaign dashboard, click the ... icon. Then, select Manage Schedule.

  3. Below Start Time, select a date and time to start your experience. Then, choose when to stop your experience. 
    You can set only a start or stop time instead of both.

  4. Select a time zone.

  5. Click Save to schedule the experience in your campaign.

In Optimizely Web Personalization campaigns, both the campaign and the experience must be set to running for the experience to actually run. When using the scheduler for experiences within a Personalization campaign, you need to make sure the entire campaign will be already running at the time when the experience is set to start.

Experiment Scheduler in Optimizely Web Experimentation

Shedule an experiment in Optimizely Web Experimentation with the step-by-step instructions below:

scheduler_web.gif

  1. Navigate to the Experiments dashboard. Select an experiment.

  2. Select Schedule from the sidebar.

  3. Below Start Time, select a date and time to start your experiment. Then, choose when to stop your experiment.
    You can set only a start or stop time instead of both.

  4. Select a time zone.

  5. Click Save to schedule your experiment.

Your experiment is now scheduled to run at the dates and times you specified in the time zone you selected.

If your experiment has unpublished changes when you set-up the scheduler, please keep in mind that you must publish these changes before Optimizely Web Experimentation is scheduled to activate the experiment, in order for the changes to go live.

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