Thomas Compatibility and Import Strategy

Compatibility goal

Thomas 360 should be accepted as useful external evidence, but it should not determine Capablio’s internal architecture, cadence model, or longitudinal scoring.

The supplied Thomas material demonstrates a recognizable import shape:

• multi-rater groups: self, manager, peers, team members, and customers
• 54 statements grouped into 12 competencies
• a 1–7 extent scale plus Not Observed / Not Applicable
• self-versus-others comparison
• relationship-level averages and ranges
• role-importance ranking
• qualitative prompts
• a Personal Development Plan section

The accompanying feedback-session material uses the report to identify strengths, blind spots, role-priority gaps, and two to three SMART PDP objectives. That is valuable context, but it remains a point-in-time review rather than a full adaptive feedback loop.

What to preserve

Capablio should be able to preserve the following without loss:

Import tiers

Tier 1 — Structured export

Preferred. Import CSV, JSON, XML, or API data containing stable item text, scores, relationship groups, and dates.

Tier 2 — PDF extraction

Parse a report into a review screen. The administrator or individual confirms:

• identity and date
• competencies
• question text
• relationship groups
• scores and Not Observed counts
• qualitative comments
• role-priority rankings

PDF extraction should never silently create native responses.

Tier 3 — Manual summary

Allow users to enter competency scores, key strengths, development themes, and PDP goals when item-level data is unavailable.

Source confidence

Use descriptive mapping confidence, not an arbitrary claim of validity:

• exact_id — known source item ID and approved crosswalk
• exact_text — exact text match to a known import definition
• semantic_reviewed — human-approved conceptual mapping
• semantic_unreviewed — machine suggestion awaiting review
• unmapped — retained only in the external source framework

Imported data should be labeled as:

• external point-in-time evidence
• source scale and framework
• observation date
• extraction method
• mapping confidence

Scoring policy

Default behavior:

• Preserve raw 1–7 values.
• Display source aggregates as reported.
• Do not insert Thomas item scores into a native Capablio trend line.
• Do not average a Thomas competency with a Capablio construct unless a reviewed bridge exists.
• A 0–100 visual normalization may be shown side by side, clearly labeled as display normalization rather than equivalence.
• Do not use an imported low score to automatically trigger employment action or a mandatory PDP.

Crosswalk example

external_mapping:
  source: thomas-360
  source_competency: ROLE MODELS GROWTH MINDSET
  source_item_text: Actively seeks feedback and uses it to improve performance and leadership effectiveness
  target_constructs:
    - leadership.feedback.seeks_input
    - leadership.feedback.uses_input
  mapping_type: semantic_reviewed
  mapping_note: Source item is double-barreled; mapped to two native constructs and retained as one external item.
  native_score_aggregation: prohibited

This example illustrates why compatibility should not mean copying the source item into the native bank. The source combines asking for feedback and using it; Capablio should measure those separately.

Native Thomas-compatible survey mode

Capablio may offer a Thomas-compatible mode for customers that need continuity:

• 1–7 extent scale
• self, manager, peer, direct report/team, customer relationships
• Not Observed and Not Applicable
• competency summaries
• self-versus-others gaps
• role-priority question
• qualitative comments
• PDF export layout

This is a presentation and input mode. Internally, questions still use the construct-family-variant model.

Importance ranking

Do not require respondents to rank every competency from 1 to N by default. A more useful native design is:

1. Rate each construct’s importance for the next 6–12 months.
2. Select the three capabilities where improvement would have the greatest impact.
3. Compare role-priority views across self, manager, and other groups.

The Thomas ranking may still be imported exactly as an external observation.

PDP handoff

An imported report can create a candidate theme. The user then chooses:

• construct to develop
• target behavior
• action and evidence
• supporters and observers
• review cadence
• whether linked questions should use a shorter cooldown or force_next_once

Only after confirmation does the native PDP engine begin affecting future surveys.