MMP.16:4.5 - Construct and compare attainable designs

Use the contrast to generate alternatives: observe where responses differ, resolve an omitted component, vary an input independently, measure at a different scale or time, or change how the record is made. Derive the resulting record laws before optimizing a convenient proxy.

For a small set of designs, calculate the selected criterion directly. For a large set, use the applicable search or numerical method from Computational Thinking. Count the cost of evaluating a design as part of the work. If approximate criteria cannot reliably order close candidates, return that uncertainty, retain several designs, or refine the calculation where a changed ranking matters.

Compare against using current information. C.11.DUA governs the attainable contribution, delay, displaced work and any disputed evidence demand. When an information-only design has a bound on its possible benefit below its cost, that bound can end the comparison without computing its criterion more accurately.

For a sequence of observations, decide whether the immediate comparison represents the intended horizon. An apparently uninformative first step may enable a later separating observation. Construct that continuation with MMP.8.SD when it changes the choice; do not require a full sequential optimization for a sufficient one-step design.