More or less equivalent to staged investment, an investment technique where funding is provided in increments based on the results of preceding funding increments. Instead of buying $100 worth of candy believing you can eat it all, you buy $10 worth of candy, see if you are sick yet, then buy another $10 worth of candy, and continue the process, stopping when you feel sick. This makes it more cost-effective to reach your goal of eating until you feel sick, if such be your goal, as you might not need to spend the full $100. In business investments, it is a good way to reduce the risk of an investment by continually checking on the results of your investment before committing more money.
— War and Peace and IT: Glossary, Mark Schwartz