Decide how long to run an operational trial

Trial duration should follow the decision and the events that need observation, rather than an arbitrary number of sessions.

A practical procedure

1. List the conditions the trial must encounter, including busy questions, transitions and a restart if relevant.

2. Set a practical observation period and a stopping rule for serious faults.

3. Review whether the required conditions actually occurred before declaring the trial complete.

Worked example: a fictional session

A fictional queue trial remains incomplete after a quiet session because it never encountered the planned burst of questions.

Check the limits

More elapsed time does not compensate for missing the scenario the trial was meant to test.