PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION

Professional Military Judgment Assessment

5 modules · 24 items · ~150 min · v1.0.0

PME students, command and staff course participants, senior leader development programs

COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK ALIGNMENT

PME-CF

Professional Military Education Competency Framework

QLM Art of Kings

Conflict Framing

Theory of Action

Decision Under Uncertainty

After Action Review

Transfer

ASSESSMENT METHOD  Structured performance assessment scored on six rubric dimensions with faculty review and evidence-linked claims

Start Module 1 → ~25 min

Module 14 items

Conflict Framing

Assesses the ability to construct a structured conflict frame with preferred and competing interpretations, principal actors, constraints, and critical assumptions under uncertainty.

Problem FramingStrategic Analysis

Frame complex conflicts with preferred and competing interpretationsIdentify principal actors and their perceived objectivesDocument critical assumptions and disconfirming indicatorsDefend a frame while acknowledging alternatives

~25 min

Module 24 items

Theory of Action Construction

Assesses the ability to construct a causal theory connecting proposed action to desired strategic condition through explicit mechanisms, actor responses, and indicator specification.

Theory BuildingStrategic Logic

Build causal pathways from action to strategic effectSpecify success and failure indicators before actingIdentify material risks and change conditionsEvaluate competing theories of change

~25 min

Module 35 items

Decision Making Under Uncertainty

Assesses structured reasoning committed before outcomes are known — intended effect, rationale, alternatives considered, evidence cited, information gaps, risks accepted, and change indicators.

Decision MakingRisk Reasoning

Commit structured reasoning before consequences are revealedDocument information gaps and accepted risks explicitlySpecify change indicators before actingAdapt reasoning after consequences with evidence

~30 min

Module 45 items

After Action Review and Historical Reasoning

Assesses structured self-assessment before historical comparison, disciplined historical comparison as context rather than answer key, and transferable principle extraction.

MetacognitionHistorical Reasoning

Conduct structured self-assessment before historical revealReason about historical cases as context not answersExtract transferable principles with evidenceCompare reasoning across cases at construct level

~30 min

Module 56 items

Case-to-Transfer Assessment

Assesses whether reasoning disciplines transfer across genuinely different strategic contexts — different actors, geography, technology, and institutional setting.

Transfer LearningMetacognition

Apply framing discipline in an unfamiliar contextBuild theory of action with different actors and mechanismsIdentify what transferred and what required adjustmentProvide construct-level evidence of transfer from both cases

~40 min