🧠 ND Workstyle Assessment – Model Overview for Evaluators

The ND Workstyle Assessment by Kiteframe, L.L.C. is a cognitive preference tool designed to help individuals identify and articulate:

1. How they differ from conventional workplace norms.
2. How those differences show up as friction at work.
3. What conditions or supports allow them to thrive.

This is not a clinical instrument and does not produce diagnoses. Instead, it analyzes alignment with composite trait clusters derived from neurodivergent, trauma-informed, and high-friction workplace experiences. Its purpose is to make invisible patterns visible, reduce misrecognition, and support better alignment between individuals and their environments.

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🔢 Scoring and Cluster Matching

Each respondent is scored against a library of clusters using two primary metrics:

• Cosine similarity: directional alignment with a trait pattern.
• Normalized dot product: intensity and clarity of expression.

Each cluster receives one of the following match labels:

• "strong" – clear signal alignment
• "moderate" – partial or reinforcing match
• "none" – ambiguous or neutral
• "moderate-anti" – moderate match in the opposite direction
• "strong-anti" – strong opposing pattern

Clusters are then ordered primarily by signal strength and estimated workplace impact, not diagnostic weight.

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🌌 Cluster Constellations

When certain clusters co-occur in strongly matched form, they may trigger a constellation—a higher-order pattern reflecting systemic or compounding interactions. Constellations are included in the results only when their presence is meaningful:

• A "strong" constellation requires all contributing clusters to be strong matches.
• A "moderate" constellation includes at least one moderate match.
• Redundant subsets are omitted in favor of the superset constellation.

Constellations represent interpretive priority and often reflect high workplace relevance.

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🧩 Cluster Categories

Clusters fall into interpretive categories based on how they typically show up in lived experience:

Friction-Prone Clusters

These often reflect adaptation to past misfit, social strain, or systemic barriers:

• Examples: C03 Task Momentum Variability, C07 Energy Pacing Volatility, C09 Vigilance, C12 Masking Load, C35 Assertiveness Penalty Risk.

Hidden Strength Clusters

These reflect valuable but often under-recognized capacities:

• Examples: C10 Deep Internal Simulation, C14 Deliberate Processing, C18 Low-Visibility Contribution, C24 Adaptive Pathfinding.

Interpretation-Risky Clusters

These require thoughtful framing to avoid misreading:

• Examples: C11 Literalist Cognition, C13 Strategic Autonomy, C22 Conflict Recoil.

Special Notes

• C31 Burnout Syndrome often reflects depletion, not trait intensity.
• C17 Clarity Penalty is relevant in reports for others (especially gendered expression), not self.
• C35 Assertiveness Penalty may reflect racial, disability, or gender-based misread patterns.

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💡 Purpose and Use

The ND Workstyle Assessment is a recognition and alignment tool, not a diagnostic instrument. It is used to:

• Illuminate cognitive patterns and friction points
• Suggest environmental conditions that support thriving
• Help respondents advocate for better workplace fit
• Inform reports for self-understanding, team alignment, coaching, or clinical insight

It is designed to affirm the respondent’s lived experience and provide practical language for self-advocacy, not to label or limit.