QAing your tag changes is important, as they run without the safety net of being part of a test. They apply to all users, and usually fall out of your practise of plan/build/test/launch that most experimentation projects go through, thus problems being easy to slip through the net.
Contexts are the mechanism in Webtrends Optimize through which you can check Draft Tag Configurations, and this article describes how to switch contexts.
Option 1 - Query string parameter
To any page, you can add the following query string parameter:
?_wt.context=optimize:my_tagconfig_name
Note that optimize: is a required part of this mechanism, but should be static/consistent.
Benefits of this mechanism:
It's easy to enable
You don't need any additional tooling
You can test everything that the other approaches would allow.
Drawbacks of this mechanism:
Because it relies on a query string, it only works for the current page. The query string does not stick with you as you browse around the website, and so you'll lose the decision when the page refreshes/unloads as you browse.
Option 2 - Drop a cookie
The following cookie controls the same context mechanism:
_wt.context=optimize:my_tagconfig_name
You can create this cookie for your own reasons, or under your own conditions. For example, as a bookmarklet, using code like:
javascript:(function(){document.cookie='_wt.context=optimize:my_tagconfig_name; path=/;'; })();
Benefits of this mechanism:
You can test everything you need to
The decision persists across page loads, down journeys, etc - allowing for more comprehensive QA across journeys.
Drawbacks of this mechanism:
Additional tooling is required, albeit not too difficult to set up.
Option 3 - Force Experiment Widget
The Force Experiment Widget, which can be installed here, comes with an option for switching contexts.
You'll be asked for the context name, use the same value you'd put anywhere else.
Behind the scenes, this uses the same "cookied" option described above, and so comes with the same benefits and drawbacks.
Our recommendation
The Force Experiment is recommended to all users of the platform as an excellent way to QA your experiments. Additional features like context-switching are benefits that make it more valuable.
For that reason, we recommend option 3 as the best solution for most users.