Innovators should have answers to the following questions at the outset:
What do they expect will happen and why?
What are the assumptions that support their predictions?
And they should discover the answers to these questions during their experimenting:
Is there evidence that confirms the original assumptions?
What has been learned?
Is a change of direction needed?

On the Differences Between Innovation and Cooking Chili - Chris Trimble - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review