Methodology
How a thirty-minute decision becomes a defensible score.
Simi is not a quiz. The score on a Skills Profile is a calibrated reading of how the candidate actually behaved — the emails they sent, the briefs they wrote, the questions they didn't ask. This page is the ledger behind every number.
The score ladder
Three bands. Defined by reveals and specificity, not vocabulary.
A candidate who asks one surface question per actor and accepts every opening answer should not earn the same band as someone who triggered a reveal and named a specific fix. The ladder is encoded directly in the assessor prompt, not left to taste.
Fundamental
Rule
Accepts opening answers. No probing. Generic or absent recommendation.
What it signals
Engaged, but stayed surface-level.
Diverse
Rule
Probes at least one actor beyond the opening. Recommendation names a problem category, but no specific fix, owner, or timing.
What it signals
Investigative instinct, no commitment.
Thorough
Rule
Triggers at least one reveal. Recommendation names a specific fix, owner, or evidence statistic. Triangulates across two or more actors.
What it signals
Investigation that leads to a real decision.
Memo quality alone cannot compensate for zero investigative depth. Any candidate with no actor reveals is capped at Diverse in the probe-dependent competencies, regardless of how well the artifacts read.
Evidence architecture
Two categories of evidence. Different scoring rules.
The most common failure mode in skills assessment is rewarding candidates for guessing the right vocabulary. Simi splits the evidence into two explicit categories — and freezes the classification before the run.
Concepts that are discoverable through two or more independent paths. The rubric may require them.
Concepts gated behind a specific probe. The rubric credits them when they appear, but never penalizes their absence.
Once release criteria are set, the assessor prompt names every concept explicitly as required or bonus. No implicit tests.
The twenty NSF skills
One rubric, twenty NSF readings.
The rubric draws from broadly accepted employability and competency frameworks. Every Skills Profile scores all twelve, and links each score to the evidence behind it.
Judgement
01Decision quality under pressure
Communication
02Clarity, tone, and audience fit
Critical thinking
03Reasoning over the evidence available
Problem solving
04Structuring options when the path is unclear
Digital literacy
05Working with the tools and signals at hand
Numeracy
06Reading and explaining the numbers
Self management
07Holding yourself together when the case bites back
Adaptability
08Updating your plan when the situation shifts
Teamwork
09Reading and managing the room you're in
Cultural intelligence
10Working across different working styles
Planning
11Sequencing what you'll do, and what you'll skip
Ethical reasoning
12How you handle the call without a clean answer
Guarantees
Four commitments we make on every score.
- Every score links back to the email, brief, escalation, or risk log it cites.
- The rubric is published before the run. No hidden vocabulary tests.
- Examiner calibration notes are shared with cohort owners.
- Cohort medians and p50 are visible to enterprise customers.