Define the system and unit of analysis
Specify process, population, product, time window, boundaries and aggregation level. Without a defined unit of analysis, measures and comparisons may represent different phenomena.
TECHNICAL GUIDE · STRUCKEL TOOLS
PES-01 · People
9 Box — Performance & Potential
Positions people by performance and potential, making criteria explicit for development, succession, mobility and talent decisions.
talentos · 9 Box · desempenho · potencialFormulários Struckel
01
MANAGEMENT QUESTION
The problem the tool must make decidable.
Before opening a form, define the question that must be answered. A management tool is useful when it reduces ambiguity, exposes assumptions and makes clear which decision will be made from the evidence produced.
PES-01How can performance and potential be discussed with explicit criteria and longitudinal evidence without turning a simple matrix into a definitive talent diagnosis?
People tools should make criteria explicit without turning managerial judgment into false precision. Observable evidence, context and dialogue remain essential to interpret any score or matrix.
Use them for development, alignment, culture, communication and talent decisions, always with transparent criteria and human review.
02
METHOD ARCHITECTURE
Technical construction: from operational definition to evidence.
A matrix turns criteria into a comparable structure. Before scoring, define scales and the meaning of each axis; otherwise different numbers may represent different interpretations across evaluators.
Define criteria before evaluation
Translate abstract concepts into operational definitions, scales, classification rules and data sources. Criteria should exist before the result to reduce retrospective interpretation.
Preserve traceability
Link each conclusion to data, observations, assumptions and owners. When a score is used, retain its components; when a hypothesis is used, record how it will be tested.
Calibrate when there are multiple evaluators, retain the evidence behind each score and treat the result as decision support — not an automatic replacement for judgment.
03
WORKED EXAMPLE
How the method behaves in a real situation.
An employee has performance 4/5 supported by delivered objectives and potential 3/5 based on learning, complexity and mobility. Placement is calibrated with concrete evidence and is not treated as a permanent label or psychological test.
The example is intentionally specific. Numbers illustrate the reasoning and are not universal benchmarks: limits, scales and targets must be defined for the process being analyzed.04
MEASUREMENT AND INTERPRETATION
What to observe so the document does not become mere form filling.
Measures should serve reasoning. Whenever possible combine outcome, process and contextual evidence. For time series, look for patterns and variation rather than only point-in-time before/after comparisons.
01performance evidence
02potential criteria
03manager calibration
04movement over time
05development actions
Consistency test
Ask whether another person, using the same definitions and evidence, would reach a similar interpretation. If the answer depends heavily on individual judgment, refine the operational definition, scale or data source.
05
LIMITATIONS AND GOVERNANCE
The tool supports decisions; it does not replace judgment, context and validation.
Widely used management heuristic. Useful for structuring decisions, but not by itself a causal model or scientifically validated scale.
9 Box is a talent-portfolio tool, not a validated psychometric instrument. Vague criteria amplify halo, similarity and recency bias.
Define an owner, review frequency, official data source and condition for reopening the decision. Link actions to deadlines and indicators, hypotheses to tests, and risks to treatment and follow-up.
DefinitionEvidenceInterpretationDecisionReview
06
METHODOLOGICAL BASIS
References for deeper study of the method.
The references below support the methodological family or principle used. Struckel’s digital implementation operationalizes application, documentation and traceability; it does not change the conceptual limits of the original sources.
EDMONDSON
Open reference Edmondson A. Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams. Administrative Science Quarterly. 1999;44(2):350–383.
SCHEIN
Schein EH, Schein PA. Organizational Culture and Leadership. 5th ed. Wiley; 2017.
USE IT IN PRACTICE
Turn the method into a document ready for real work.
Struckel Forms offers a free way to structure this methodology with guided fields, contextual help and print/PDF preparation. Use the tool to organize reasoning; use consulting when the challenge requires design, implementation, facilitation or executive follow-up.