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Sitecore Analytics Testing Tools by Derek Hunziker

In the world of software development, there is a well-known principle called DRY which stands for "don't repeat yourself". The idea behind this principle is simple; if you find yourself writing the same code in multiple places within an application, then it's time to consolidate that code into a singlereusable form.

If you apply this principle to everyday life, then things start to fall apart. You see, I am programmed to drink coffee every morning, read the latest news on CNN.com, and brush my teeth before going to bed. Although it's not very "DRY", it's what I do every day, and I feel it's in my best interests.

Sometimes, though, you find yourself in situations in life where things are neither DRY nor in your best interests. Today, for example, I was doing some testing on a Sitecore DMS project and I found myself in this very situation. I was testing out a custom A/B test strategy which required me to clear my browser cache one too many times—it was time to DRY things up!

The resulting solution is the Sitecore Analytics Testing Tools Chrome Extension. The extension lets you clear DMS related cookies and specify a forwarded IP address for GeoIP lookups. This functionality comes OOTB in Sitecore 8 (which is due out in 2015), however, I could not find a single set of tools for existing OMS/DMS installations that combined everything I needed.