Dunning-Kruger in Action: The 5 Types of A/B Testing Stakeholders

Your average A/B testing stakeholder is overconfident and under-knowledgable.

It’s classic Dunning Kruger Effect. There are 5 main types of stakeholders you’ll encounter.

Type 1: Near-Zero Competence, Near-Zero Confidence

These folks are not as bad as you would think to work with. Sure, they don’t know much. But they can understand where they don’t know something. It’s ineptitude, but it’s paired with humbleness.

Type 2: Low Competence, High Confidence

This is the danger zone. These folks are likely to peek into results, glom onto early signals, and over-interpret data even once it’s significant. They’re a minefield to work with.

Type 3: Medium Competence, Higher Confidence

These folks often used to maybe have the full competence, but they’ve forgotten now. They’re more interested in moving fast — and that often leads to error in judgment. Working with them is possible, but it needs a careful hand.

Thinking to move up in your own competence and confidence? Check out the deep dive.

Type 4: High Competence, Matching Confidence

This is one of the best types of people to work with. They can actually help you move forward. These types of stakeholders are where most PMs should strive to be. Not quite analyst-level, but close.

Type 5: Extremely High Competence, High Confidence

These stakeholders were often former analysts or statisticians. They never peak, they don’t make conclusions that the data doesn’t support, and they expand your own wrestling with the data. These are the gold to embrace.