Alpha = .05 is not sacred. It’s a policy choice. What’s the cost of a false alarm here… money, time, safety, trust? Choose alpha to match reality: .10 for quick screens, .05 for routine work, .01 (or .001) when stakes are steep. Declare it before the run. Then compare: p below alpha means you’ll proceed; p above means you’ll pause, power up, or pivot. This upfront budgeting changes culture. Post-mortems skip the drama: “We set .01, we missed; next step is larger n or better measurement.” Alpha makes risk visible and shared, which is how teams stay brave without being reckless.
