The run log and a shared record
Optional at first, from phase 2, with the long-term goal of becoming the field default in phase 3: labs log every run to a shared record, so the assistant can show how many devices showed an effect instead of asking. Here is one paper followed through the steps, ending with how the field would make it the default.
With a run log tagged by device, the assistant can compare the final data with everything measured, for example 3 of 40 devices shown, instead of asking. Logging is optional at first. In phase 1 the assistant runs wherever the lab runs it. For a lab that logs, the same assistant can also run inside the record, so it reads the log without the data leaving it.
There's no acceptable fraction. Devices differ by design, many die on cooldown or are used only for tuning, and whether one shows the effect depends on the range measured. So the count comes by category, as the lab defines it, and devices that die before measurement never produce a run. The record tracks information; it doesn't judge value. The count and the reason are there for readers to weigh.
One paper, step by step
Here's one paper from a quantum device lab, followed through the five steps. Switch between today and the run log to compare, and select a step to see what it does and what each person can see.
Log every run
- What happens
- For a lab that opts in, its measurement software sends every run and its settings to a shared system of record, a tracked archive run by a third party. A run here is one measurement the software saves, such as a gate sweep, not a whole cooldown. The record is encrypted: the lab can see its own runs, and otherwise only the assistant, run on the record operator's systems, reads them. Nothing depends on someone remembering to upload, so failed runs are kept too. Someone still records which device each run came from, and devices that fail before measurement never produce a run.
- Today
- Data sits on lab computers and students' drives. Failed runs are seldom written up, and data is often lost when people leave.
A plan, only where it helps
The Pittsburgh report cautions that pre-registration may not help exploratory research, and much of condensed matter is exploratory. So a plan isn't one of the steps: the full log and the selection check already show what was tried. For a confirmation experiment, such as testing a claimed smoking gun, it's worth a few minutes to write down in advance what would count as the signature (which plateau value, over what gate range, on how many devices), and the record time-stamps it.1
Most of the pieces already exist in some form. The new ones are the shared record, the assistant's comparison of the final data with the full log, and a view of the field for funders: what's being worked on and what nobody is investing in.