Your notion of "over-commit" is different from most, including me. People over-commit to themselves or others when they make some sort of guaranty or warranty that an event/accomplishment/result will happen without fail. A plan to do something is carried out to see whether an event/accomplishment/result can or will happen; chemistry and biotechnology continue to be as unpredictable in experimental studies/trials as they were in my school days 60 years ago.