Small Unit Decision Making (SUDM) Assessment Battery

Abstract : The objective of this project was to develop a Small Unit Decision Making (SUDM) Assessment Battery to measure decision-making proficiency of infantry small unit leaders. The target audiences are maneuver squad leaders and platoon commanders. The battery contains off-the shelf self-report and custom performance instruments. This report summarizes the finalization of the battery. Item analysis supports the quality of the instruments. Each off-the-shelf instrument was found to measure a discrete construct. The instruments for resilience, metacognition, and attentional control, and the SUDM Situational Judgment Test (consisting of subscales for sensemaking, situational assessment, and decision making), were the strongest predictors of decision making performance as measured by the Decision Requirements Interview, a performance instrument created for this project. The battery significantly discriminates between differently performing groups. The seven instruments addressing resilience, problem solving, attentional control, ambiguity tolerance, self-regulation, and self-awareness, and the SUDM Situational Judgment Test, made the largest contribution towards differentiating between the performance level of the NCO and Lt groups participating in the project. Two additional products from this effort are the Maneuver Squad Leader Mastery Model and the Small Unit Decision Making Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale. To support implementation by the Marine Corps, the battery should be converted into a computer-administered version, followed by transition to the Marine Corps including system demonstration, testing in an operational environment, and training for battery implementation.