Assessment is a game

Assessment is a game. The goal of the game is to break the given situation and reach a crystal clear decision. The game has two kinds of players: the facilitators and the stakeholders.

The facilitators live and breathe data. They look at a software system and see a beautiful maze of entities and relationships. They are those with the right tools at the right time. If the tools are not quite right, they build new ones. And they do it fast so that the game does not stall. They produce numbers, they search succinctly through the system, and generate fascinating visualizations.

While facilitators are knights in shiny armor that can save the day with their sharp tools, stakeholders might feel less prominent. Yet, their role is critical.

Stakeholders are those with the problem, yet they are no trouble makers. Their problem is everyone's problem for if they do not know what to do, everyone loses. They might not know how to figure out the answer by themselves, but they can recognize the value of an answer when one is provided. And they know how to transform those answers into decisions.

Facilitators are instrumental, but without stakeholders there is no game. No game, no assessment. No assessment, no decision. No decision, no action. No action, no improvement. No improvement ...