What it measures

Individual instruments such as the ALiF-SAQ show where each person sits. The OLD Maturity Assessment shows where the organization sits, as a system rather than a collection of individuals. It rates the organization’s current position on each of the four dimensions of Organizational Learning Debt and compares it with the level the organization needs, given the AI systems it uses or is deploying.

Dimension	What is assessed
Capability	The gap between required and actual AI literacy in the workforce, using ALiF components and levels as the reference
Learning infrastructure	Feedback loops, evaluation processes, communities of practice and protected learning time
Cultural	Norms, incentives and leadership signals that support or inhibit AI literacy development
Governance and pipeline	AI governance structures, and the development pathways through which future AI-capable practitioners and leaders are formed

Each dimension is rated on a four-step maturity scale, from not initiated to advanced, using written descriptors and evidence prompts.

Classification

Direct / Mixed / Organization. It is Direct because it is anchored in ALiF components and levels, Mixed because it combines structured workshop rating with document review, and organizational because the organization, not the respondent, is the unit being measured. It is planned for the ALiF Core endorsement tier.

How it works

The assessment is a facilitated workshop of about three hours with three to five cross-functional participants, for example leads for learning and development and for AI governance, a clinical or faculty representative, a frontline user and an executive sponsor. Single-respondent use is not supported. With fewer than three participants the result is treated as indicative only.

The workshop moves through orientation, agreeing a target level for each dimension based on the risk of the AI portfolio, independent rating, structured discussion of divergent ratings, gap profiling and a written narrative profile. A facilitator familiar with ALiF and the debt model manages the process but does not rate. Disagreement that cannot be resolved is recorded, since it is itself diagnostic.

SAQ aggregate data (never individual profiles) may inform the framing of the capability dimension.

What it produces

A gap profile per dimension, priority sequencing and a narrative portrait for planning. Gap scores are used to order priorities only. They are not added up into a single debt total, because each dimension has its own causes and remedies.

Use with the OLD-ICA

The OLD-MA shows how much debt exists. The companion OLD Infrastructure and Culture Audit explains why. The two are designed to be used together, with the OLD-MA first.

Status

Version 1.0 is a draft for development, based on the Organizational Learning Debt concept paper, which is under peer review. The workshop structure is considered stable; the descriptors may be refined if the dimensional structure changes. Organizational consent or governance approval is needed before use. Rating descriptors and worksheets are not published on this site.