> I'm curious why I hear so much about A/B testing, but rarely hear about other statistical methods for assessing changes in usage patterns. Are they not being

> I'm curious why I hear so much about A/B testing, but rarely hear about other statistical methods for assessing changes in usage patterns. Are they not being used? Am I simply looking in the wrong places? Or is A/B testing really sufficient in most cases? I believe part of the problem is you actually know the definition of "A/B Testing" and the real definition (testing a single, specific change) is mostly lost on the majority of those using the phrase. In other words, "A/B Testing" in common use has essentially become slang for "Multi-Variate Testing" and other forms of testing. For example, if you only change the color of a button, you're (formally) doing "A/B Testing" but if you change both the color and location of a button, you're (formally) doing "Multi-Variate Testing." None the less, you'll often see the later called the former in common usage.