Bad Data, Bad Queen: Cersei Lannister and CX Optimization

Cersei Lannister is the worst. (Okay so maybe she’s not as bad as Ramsey but she’s pretty bad). She has a kind of twisted logic underneath everything she does, but it’s driven by something horrible. What drives her? Bad data. She operates in a world completely her own and has no understanding of (or interest in) how her actions affect citizens of Kings Landing. As an A/B testing solution, she has all the requisite components — the software, the design capabilities, the customers — but her decisions are based on inaccurate or incomplete data, delivering no ROI. How can you optimize your customer experience without really understanding it?

Data is your (very big) small council

Cersei sits on the small council for her sons Joffrey and Tommen, and then eventually names herself Queen. She has access to all the information she could want, but over the course of the saga she corrupts it to become less and less reliable. To begin with, she has Tyrion as Hand of the King who generally returns accurate information, but everyone else on the council serves more nefarious interests. Cersei functions as an optimization solution that runs A/B tests and variations but returns wrong — and therefore useless — data.

Clean up your act

As we know, Cersei is wreaking havoc in King’s Landing, spending all her energy defending her Iron Throne. Meanwhile, the White Walkers inch farther and farther South, killing everything in their wake. Stannis may not be the change the Seven Kingdoms needs, but he still concedes that White Walkers threaten the realm much more imminently than any monarch. Blind to this because she lacks the data, Cersei is destined to rule over rubble. This is what happens when your optimization plan has a blind spot. Maybe you A/B test a new feature on your web browser, but because java script tags slow down your interface you either lose or repeat data points. Your decisions won’t reflect your customer’s needs.

Bad data and your ROI

Ultimately, Cersei sees no ROI over the course of the show so far. All of her children have died in very avoidable circumstances, she has alienated almost every ally she might have had, and while she does become Queen, she has no real realm to speak of. Her insistence on keeping bad data led to an ineffective rule. Don’t let that happen to your A/B testing and optimization solution. Make sure your data is sound and you can truly improve your realm (your brand’s customer experience).

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