There are a number of intangibles that are important for your team's, your organization's success.
There are also a range of capabilities that are more easily measured that need to built into role definitions and then into your evaluation processes. One interesting tool for helping ritualize data gathering about new hire candidates for technology-related roles is the cognitive domain of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Obectives.
Mapping each of your interview questions, exercises, & testing to specific categories in Blooms Taxonomy may help you identify whether you are measuring the right skills and abilities for given open positions.
Recall or remember previously learned information without necessarily understanding it. Its characteristics may include:
- Knowledge of specifics—terminology, specific facts.
- Knowledge of ways and means of dealing with specifics—conventions, trends and sequences, classifications and categories, criteria, methodology.
- Knowledge of the universals and abstractions in a field—principles and generalizations, theories and structures.
Indicators may include, but are not limited to:- Memorizing
- Recognizing, Identifying, Selecting
- Naming, Listing, Labeling, Recording, Drawing, Reproducing
- Recalling, Describing Reciting, Quoting, Repeating, Stating
- Matching, Counting, Tabulating
Understand the meaning and interpretation of data, instructions and problems so they can explain their observations of specific data, or a problem, issue or situation in their own words. Their presentation may include evidence of organizing, comparing, translating, interpreting, giving descriptions, or asserting relevant main ideas.
Indicators may include, but are not limited to:
- Summarizing, Describing, Explaining
- Paraphrasing, Discussing, Contrasting, Differentiating, Distinguishing, Elaborating, visualizing
- Defending, Extrapolating
Use knowledge and concepts to solve new, concrete or abstract problems. Candidates would be able to use prior knowledge to solve new problems, identify connections and relationships and how they apply in new situations.
Indicators may include, but are not limited to:
- Using a concept to solve a problem
- Finding, Discovering, Solving, Completing,
- Changing, Modifying, Customizing, Personalizing
- Controlling, Operating, Deploying, Using, Computing
- Instructing, Demonstrating, Showing, Illustrating, Investigating, Exploring
- Assigning
Break problems, data, or concepts into component parts demonstrating understanding of structural relationships and abstract organizational principles. This often involves identifying motives or causes, making inferences, and finding evidence to support generalizations. Its characteristics may include:
- Analysis of elements.
- Analysis of relationships.
- Analysis of organization.
Indicators may include, but are not limited to:- Identifing, Detecting
- Explaining relationships, Comparing, Differentiating, Distinguisning, Classifying
- Auditing
- Exploring
Combine components or elements together in structures or patterns to create new concepts, meanings, objects, or wholes. Its characteristics may include:
- Production of a unique communication.
- Production of a plan, or proposed set of operations.
- Derivation of a set of abstract relations.
Indicators may include, but are not limited to:- Combine information to create something
- Creativitiy and originality
Uses defined criteria to make assessments and/or value judgements when choosing between or advocating for different applications of concepts, ideas, methods, or materials to achieve a given purpose. This may show up when a candidate is presenting and defending opinions. Its characteristics may include:
- Judgments in terms of internal evidence.
- Judgments in terms of external criteria.
Indicators may include, but are not limited to:- Present and defend opinions
- Judge according to criteria
Bloom's 'affective domain' is also relevant in the hiring process as well. I'll deal more with that in future updates to this page.
Passively listen/observe and remember enough to demonstrate recognition.
Actively participate in learning processes (includes interaction).
Associate value to an object, phenomenon, or unit of information (to the knowledge acquired above). Demonstrate sensitivity towards individual and cultural differences.
Assemble/associate different values, information, and ideas -- prioritize, resolve, compare, relate, synthesize and elaborate on what was learned above.
Internalize values - demonstrate a value system that aligns with their behavior.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_taxonomy
- http://www.infosemantics.com.au/sites/default/files/Blooms_Taxonomy_for_Drag_and_Drop.png (Downloaded 2011-08-16)
- ...and later at: https://www.infosemantics.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Blooms_Taxonomy_for_E-Learning-1024x706.png (Downloaded 2023-02-23)