In today’s increasingly complex and fast-moving world, the ability to manage complexity, stay organized, and self-regulate has become a key factor for success—not only in the workplace but also in academic settings.
This growing demand for cognitive agility is reshaping what we need to assess when selecting students, professionals, and future leaders.
Why Complexity Management Matters
From navigating ambiguity to making decisions under pressure, individuals today must demonstrate:
- Strategic planning and organization
- The ability to identify patterns and interrelations
- Sound reasoning and decision-making
- Effective prioritization
These core competencies are critical predictors of academic and professional success—and we’ve been capturing them for years through our established “Planning and Organizing” item format across various assessments. Data shows a strong positive correlation between these abilities and academic performance.
Innovation in Assessment Design
Building on this proven format, we’ve now developed a new scenario-based assessment approach. What’s different?
- Shorter, dynamic scenarios
- Increased number of micro-situations per test
- Higher informational flow to reflect real-world cognitive demands
This modernized format aligns even more closely with the reality of daily life and work—where rapid information shifts and multitasking are the norm.
By simulating this everyday complexity more accurately, we can assess what truly matters: how individuals manage information overload, set priorities, and stay focused.
At the same time, initial findings suggest that the shorter task format captures comparable competencies to those assessed by established measures of “Planning and organizing”.
What This Means for Talent and Education
With this innovation, we’re not just assessing skills—we’re helping institutions and organizations identify future-ready talent equipped to thrive in a world where adaptability is key.
