Judgement is deciding well when the information is incomplete, the options are not comparable, and waiting has a cost. It covers recognising that a decision is required, identifying what actually turns on it, weighing considerations that cannot be reduced to a common unit, committing, and remaining willing to revisit as new information arrives. It is the capability that operates in the space analysis leaves over, and it is visible in the reasoning behind a decision rather than in the decision's outcome.
What judgement is not
- It is not being right, and this is the distinction the rubric exists to hold. A well-reasoned decision that turned out badly demonstrates the capability, and a lucky call does not. It is not decisiveness, which is the willingness to decide quickly and is a separate trait that can accompany poor judgement. It is not risk aversion or risk appetite, both of which are dispositions rather than capabilities. It is not analysis: analysis narrows the uncertainty and judgement operates on what remains. And it is not seniority, though it correlates with experience closely enough that reviewers must be careful not to read confidence as competence.