Then it designs the tests

Each plan carries numbered assumptions, each with what happens if it turns out to be false and a test that would find out. Tests are ordered by what they teach divided by what they cost, so the free desk research runs before the expensive experiment. Each one is registered with its success threshold before it starts, so the bar cannot move afterwards.

If your budget cannot buy enough data to detect the effect you are looking for, the test is labelled a directional probe everywhere it appears, rather than being quietly reported as a result.