Create Your First Test
This guide walks you through creating a test end-to-end. The wizard has four steps—most tests take under five minutes to set up.
Step 1: Define your test
- Name your test (e.g., "Q1 Pricing Increase — West Region")
- Describe what you're testing and why
- Pick your primary metric — the number you're trying to move (revenue, visits, transactions, etc.). Only metrics available for your organization appear in the dropdown.
- Set your MDE — the minimum detectable effect, as a percentage. This is the smallest change worth detecting. We recommend 5–10% for most tests.
- Choose dates — pick a start and end date. ProofPod shows the test duration and recommends at least 2–3 weeks.
If your MDE is below 3%, ProofPod will warn you—detecting very small effects requires a lot of data and a long test duration.
Step 2: Select your data source
Choose where your test data comes from:
- Integration — uses data from your connected POS (Mindbody, Square, ClubReady)
- Synced Events — pulls from your warehouse event tables, with optional category filters
- CSV Upload — drag and drop a file; ProofPod maps columns automatically
Step 3: Assign locations
Divide your locations into treatment (running the experiment) and control (business as usual). ProofPod offers three modes:
- Smart — ProofPod picks the best groups automatically using its matching algorithm
- Hybrid — ProofPod suggests groups, but you can drag locations between them
- Manual — you assign every location yourself
You need at least one treatment and one control location. ProofPod warns you if any locations overlap with another running test.
Step 4: Review and create
Review your test configuration—name, dates, metric, data source, and location assignments. Use the edit buttons to jump back to any step. When everything looks right, hit Create Test.
Your test is now running. ProofPod begins collecting data immediately and you can read your results as they come in.
For a deeper dive into each wizard step, see Creating a Test.