The Standard · methodology

Requirements first. Decision method second.

The minimum safety principle is non-negotiable. The exact gates, scoring interaction, thresholds and standard-setting method remain open to expert challenge and pilot evidence.

Safety cannot be compensated

An approved minimum safety foundation will apply wherever the underlying risk is present.

Conformity is requirement-led

The decision must test defined obligations and practice—not reward persuasive policies or a high headline score.

The classification method is open

Pillar results and aggregate scoring are candidates to test, not rules already approved.

How maturity is built

From an answer to an award decision

Self-report starts the record. Evidence and audit determine how much of that claim can be relied on.

1
Each scored applicant question maps to one requirement and one primary construct.
2
Each of the 25 working indicators is rated on a 0–4 maturity scale: absent, stated, operational, systematic, embedded/verified.
3
Universal, binary and routed safeguards are not forced into artificial four-tier progressions.
4
Pillar and aggregate results remain diagnostic candidates until measurement and pilot review.
5
Audit evidence may hold or lower a self-reported indicator outcome. It can never inflate it beyond what the evidence supports.
6
Routing controls “not applicable” by organisation type and context. The applicant cannot simply exclude an inconvenient indicator.

Standard Pilot v0.9

What is fixed—and what is still being tested

MindsMelt can publish its working logic without pretending that an untested scoring proposal is the Standard.

Element	Current position	Still to resolve
Minimum safety foundation	Fixed in principle: essential safeguards cannot be offset by strength elsewhere.	Exact controls, applicability and failure consequences require expert approval.
Requirement conformity	An organisation must demonstrate that applicable obligations work in practice.	Evidence validity, sampling and reviewer calibration remain to be tested.
Pillar and aggregate results	Useful candidates for diagnosis and decision support—not approved cut scores.	Measurement review will test whether and how they belong in the final decision.
Standard-setting method	Open. Modified Angoff is one option, not the predetermined answer.	Compare performance profiles, conformity, pilot classification, reviewer agreement and sensitivity.

Validation plan

Honest about what v1.0 can prove.

Experts will review content, constructs, evidence and classification options. Friendly organisations will complete cognitive walkthroughs, and the founding cohort will generate burden, consistency, reviewer-agreement and decision-sensitivity evidence. Modified Angoff may be tested alongside other methods; it is not assumed in advance.

Explore all 25 working indicators