Experimentation plugin release notes

experimentation v1.0.0 release

Release date: October 1, 2025

experimentation- Resolved the issue of Experiment Status labeling for draft and in-workflow content—experiments now display their actual status, such as Planned, rather than Running, until the content is published. The banner now lists each experiment's status.v1.0.0 release had 24 new features, 11 improvements, and 24 bug fixes.

Significant new features

• Improved the Experimentation widget by retaining filter on page reload and hiding the Archived status in the Variations widget when an experiment is selected.

• Added Monthly Tracked Users (MTU) tracking and notification functions for experimentation feature. It now provides clear CMS alerts and status updates when usage limits are reached.

• Added the capability to automatically pause experiments and archive other variations when default content is archived or restored during an experiment.

• Added support for traffic reshuffling for an experiment via Brightspot Experiment feature.

• The edit form now appears read-only when you attempt to edit an experiment with Archived or Completed status. You must restore the experiment to edit.

• Added a capability to restore/delete experiments and variations, after they are archived. You can edit the items after you restore.

• Added Archived as a status option to the Experiment and Variation filters. Updated the default filter selections to include Running, Paused, and Completed (with Archived unselected). Also, introduced multi-select on experiment and variation statuses, so you can now select Running and Paused simultaneously to view results.

• You can now filter a variation by experiment name once a variation is associated with experiment via Variations widget. When no experiment is selected, the filter defaults to Any Experiment.

• You can now archive experiments directly from Brightspot. Archiving updates the experiment’s status, moves it to the end of the list with the Archive label, and provides an option to archive associated variations.

• Introduced the ability to end experiments with an option to promote a winning variation. When ending an experiment, users can now promote the winner (default on), automatically update experiment status and winner fields, and archive all other variations.

• Added a site and role-based toggle to control the ability to run multiple experiments per content. By default, only one experiment can run on a piece of content at a time, and experiment creation is closed if another is active. Administrators can enable multiple concurrent experiments via site and role permissions as required.

• Updated experimentation widgets and workflows to the new Brightspot v5.0 UI.

• Enforced a 1:1 relationship between experiments and variations. When you enable it in Sites & Settings, you can associate each variation with a single experiment, with in-use variations hidden from selection and errors shown if duplication is attempted.

• Added Published and Archived filters for Variations (defaulting to published), and introduced improved auto-archive function for variations when archiving or ending experiments. Variations not in use can now be auto-archived for improved experiment and content management.

• Added the ability to promote a variation as the winner. If the variation is part of a running experiment, you are prompted to end the experiment before promotion; otherwise, variations can be promoted directly.

• You can now create a copy of a variation to make edits for future experiments. When copying, a dialog box prompts you to name the new variation.

• You can now compare two variations of content side by side to see changes between them with differences visually highlighted. The interface is similar to the Compare Revisions view.

• Added the new Experiments dashboard, providing filters for Status, User, and Content Type, with direct access to experiment details, results, and related content.

• Added Search and Filter options for managing experiments, including quick actions for editing, pausing, promoting a winner, viewing results, and archiving. You can now filter experiments by status and search by name, with pagination for easier navigation of larger experiment lists.

• Added the ability to filter variations by experiment name and search for variations by their name, with quick actions for editing, comparing, copying, promoting, and archiving. A warning label now appears when editing variations in running experiments, and the default variation is always pinned to the top of the list.

• You can now create new experiments directly from the Experimentation panel. You are prompted to create a variation if no experiment exists, and a guided walkthrough wizard assists in setting up new experiments.

• Added the Variations cluster to the Experimentation Panel that enables you to easily create, name, and manage experiment variations with draft, publish, and workflow support. A notification banner now highlights when you are editing a specific variation.

• Added configurable experiment notifications, allowing you to receive alerts for key experiment events—including creation, updates, status changes, winner determination, and variation content changes—enabling you to choose which sites and content trigger notifications for each event. Self-initiated actions do not trigger notifications.

• Added granular role-based permissions for experimentation features, enabling CMS admins to control which users can create, edit, or delete experiments and goals, or perform service-specific actions.

Significant improvements

• Updated integration to use the new API for referencing Custom Data by name.

• Improved Experimentation dialog box sizing for a more consistent experience. Reduced the height of New Variation and Restore Variations dialogs, increased the size of New Experiment and Experiment Results dialogs, and improved spacing and confirmation message placement.

• Updated the color of the Back button to Gray in the New Experiment dialog box.

• The Experimentation feature now leverages the platform’s new Plugin configuration models.

• Enhanced Shared Goals Management. Renamed the section, hid the experimentation admin area unless experimentation is enabled, and added experiment reference details (content type, content name, experiment name, and status) for shared goals for proper decision-making.

• Moved the Toggle Status action to the core Experimentation module that utilizes the new setStatus API.

• Aligned the End Experiment modal styling with the Archive modal for UI consistency, with the heading on the modal and the information symbol with the question inside the modal.

• Updated Experimentation 5.0 UI to apply Tailwind CSS utility classes inline within the HTML markup, simplifying styling and aligning with best practices for simplicity and productivity.

• Added notifications for experiment restoration and permanent deletion events.

• Enhanced Experimentation permissions by adding controls under Users & Roles > Additional Permissions > Experimentation for creating, editing, viewing, restoring, archiving, and deleting both variations and experiments.

• Reduced extra clicks for common actions for Experimentation functions. After confirming actions such as create, end, pause, resume, or archive, you now see a success message and are redirected with a countdown, simplifying the workflow.

Significant defects addressed

• Resolved the issue of missing icons in side navigation.

• Resolved the issue of non-functioning of Winner calculation by ensuring the correct data is sent in API requests.

• Resolved a NullPointerException when refreshing new experiments.

• Removed the Experiment Variation option from the Misc Content Types list.

• Resolved issues that prevented notifications to Slack for Experimentation events.

• Fixed an issue that allowed users to create variations with the name Default.

• Updated the Experimentation setup so the Environment field now defaults to production and has been moved to the Developer tab.

• Fixed the issue of the placement of pagination links in the Experiment Widget so they now appear below the list of experiments.

• Fixed the issue of validation for the URL field when the Goal Type is set to Access to Page.

• Fixed the issue of an API rate limit by adjusting polling interval from 15 minutes to 1 hour.

• Resolved several issues with experiment notifications, including NullPointerExceptions for scheduled experiments, missing resumed notifications for planner experiments, and incorrect messaging for winner determination and auto-promotion. Fixed notification delivery when Content of a Variation is updated and ensured significant update notifications are only triggered for relevant changes.

• Corrected an issue where users without the Create Variation permission could copy existing variations.

• Resolved an issue where clicking Delete Permanently does not remove archived experiments despite success message.

• Resolved the issue where the Experimentation Filter was filtering out any requests that start with /cms. This ensures that experiments run as intended on all valid URLs.

• Resolved an issue where users were prompted twice to archive variations when archiving completed experiments.

• Fixed the absence of the conical flask icon next to the "variation being used in running experiment" warning and the missing results icon on the Experiments dashboard.

• Fixed the issue of the Experiment Status filter that now displays the placeholder text "Running, Paused, Planned" making it clear which experiment statuses are selected and shown.

• Fixed an issue where variation names were not rendered correctly when the Enforce One To One setting in Sites & Settings > Integrations > Experimentation was enabled.

• Resolved an issue where the Save button and editable fields were available for archived or completed experiments.

• Fixed an issue where you could see the Promote option even for the archived variations.

• Removed the redundant toggle option "Promote (Variation name) - the winning variation - to default" when the default content is the winner in experimentation. The End Experiment dialog now clearly distinguishes between promoting a variation and confirming the default as the winner.

• Resolved the issue of Experiment Status labeling for draft and in-workflow content—experiments now display their actual status, such as Planned, rather than Running, until the content is published. The banner now lists each experiment’s status.

• Fixed an issue where all previous notifications for archived experiments appeared as Invalid, ensuring that experiment notifications are preserved for reference.

• Resolved the issue where variation name search would only work with the first word and would not display results if you type the whole variation name. - You can now easily locate variations by typing any part of the name in the search box.