Articles about designing, interpreting, and using evidence to assess capabilities with sound judgment.
33 articles
What does a space without a conclusion actually mean? It may indicate an absence of observation, an expectation outside the role, or insufficient evidence. Distinguishing these states prevents us from assigning a gap that the data does not demonstrate.
What makes an assessment valid for a specific decision? The answer connects the intended use with the evidence required, the interpretation that can be supported, and the limits of any conclusion.
Before using a skills architecture to assess people, validate it by testing its definitions against real decisions, deliverables, and situations.
Confidence becomes visible before competence does. It appears in the speed of a response, the firmness of a voice, and the willingness to take up space. Competence, by contrast, can be supported only by relevant evidence of what a person can do under specific conditions.
Knowing What Students Know was written for educational assessment, but its central question applies to any system that tries to evaluate capabilities: how do we move from what someone does in a specific situation to a defensible inference about what they know and can do?
A poorly designed assessment often reveals its flaws before producing results. The following signs help detect problems in what is being assessed, the questions, the evidence, the scales, and the intended use while the design can still be corrected.
When a leader distrusts a skills assessment, the usual reaction is to attribute it to resistance to change. But distrust may also point to genuine problems with burden, observation, interpretation, or consequences that the design has not yet resolved.
The authority to assess comes with the role. The quality of the judgment comes from the evidence. When the two are confused, familiarity, reputation, and visible results take the place of observation.
Noise brings an uncomfortable idea to talent decisions: two competent assessors can apply the same criteria and reach different conclusions for reasons the system never deliberately chose to accept.
A perception does not capture reality like a camera. It does, however, record how someone interprets what they could observe within a particular relationship, at a particular moment, and against specific expectations. That limitation does not make perception irrelevant; it determines how perception should be read.
Pulse, Check, Interview, and Target can coexist within the same assessment architecture, but they are not longer or shorter versions of the same instrument. Each mode answers a different question, produces a different kind of evidence, and supports conclusions with a distinct scope.
Reassessing too soon can mistake a recent activity for a developed capability. Reassessing too late leaves unanswered a question that could already be resolved. The right time depends not only on the calendar, but also on opportunities to practice, the quality of the evidence, and the stability of the change.