How do the nine dimensions relate to the STEP name?
STEP names the four domains of AIRS-J/1, and each of the nine dimension codes belongs to one of them. Six entries give the Standard's own wording, with its section, and a plain reading that explains it and changes nothing in it.
Glossary of AIRS-J/1 · The four domains
Judgment is how well a person decides once AI has given the answer. AIRS-J/1, the AIR APAC Standard for Judgment in AI-Enabled Work, describes it in nine dimensions, grouped under four domains. A reader meets the word STEP and codes such as T2 or E1 in the Standard and in material based on it. The six entries below show how these fit together. Each entry gives the Standard's own wording first, with its section number. A plain reading follows it. The plain reading explains the words and does not change the Standard.
STEP
The Standard's wording. "One of four groupings of dimensions under the STEP structure: Structure, Test, Engage, Perform." (3, Domain) "Nine dimensions, grouped under four STEP domains." (5)
Where the wording comes from. Section 3 has no entry for STEP itself. The word appears in the definition of a domain (3) and in the first line of Section 5.
Plain reading. STEP is made of the first letters of the four domains, in the order the Standard gives them. S is Structure. T is Test. E is Engage. P is Perform. The Standard does not say that a person must work through the four domains in this order.
The STEP judgment construct
The Standard's wording. "The model is derived from the STEP judgment construct already canonical in AIR APAC's simulation methodology, and is cross-walked to the scenario-authoring lifecycle in Annex B. It supersedes all earlier competency structures, including the ten-domain readiness model, which is retired (Annex B.3)." (5)
Where the wording comes from. Section 3 has no entry for this phrase. It comes from the opening of Section 5.
Plain reading. The four domains and nine dimensions were built from a description of judgment that AIR APAC already used in its simulation methods. That description is the STEP judgment construct. The model in AIRS-J/1 replaces every earlier competency structure. An older model of ten readiness domains is retired (Annex B.3).
Domain line
The Standard's wording. Each domain heading in Section 5 carries one line in italics (5):
- Structure: "Framing the problem before reaching for a tool."
- Test: "Interrogating evidence, including machine-generated evidence."
- Engage: "Authority, people, and being seen to act."
- Perform: "Deciding proportionately, and owning the decision."
Where the wording comes from. "Domain line" is this glossary's label, not a term of the Standard. The four lines appear below the four domain headings in Section 5.
Plain reading. Each line says what its domain is about.
- Structure is about the goal. The person sets out what the work has to achieve, and which decision must be made, before using any tool.
- Test is about evidence. The person checks for what would show a claim or an answer is wrong, including an answer that an AI system produced.
- Engage is about agreement. The person acts within their own authority, and others can see that they acted. They work out who must agree to the decision, and who must know about it.
- Perform is about responsibility. The person commits in proportion to the evidence, and is answerable for the action and what follows.
Dimension code
The Standard's wording. "One of nine discrete judgment competencies defined in Section 5. In this Standard, 'dimension' always refers to an individual judgment dimension." (3, Dimension)
Where the wording comes from. "Dimension code" is this glossary's label, not a term of the Standard. The codes appear in the Section 5 headings.
Plain reading. Each dimension has a code of one letter and one number. The letter is the domain: S, T, E or P. The number is the dimension's place in the list under that domain in Section 5. So T2 is the second dimension listed under Test. The nine official names, with their codes, are (5):
- S1 Problem Framing
- S2 Scope and Constraint Definition
- T1 Evidence Verification
- T2 Assumption and Alternative Testing
- T3 Risk and Failure Anticipation
- E1 Decision Rights and Escalation
- E2 Stakeholder Alignment and Disclosure
- P1 Proportionate Commitment Under Uncertainty
- P2 Consequence Ownership and Correction
Structure, Engage and Perform hold two dimensions each. Test holds three. Section 5 sets out what each dimension describes.
Domain score
The Standard's wording. The aggregation rule says that "a domain score is the arithmetic mean of its dimension scores" (12.2.1). Rule 2 of the thresholds, Domain floor, reads: "Each of S, T, E, P at or above 2.0 (mean of its dimensions)" (12.2).
Where the wording comes from. Section 3 has no entry for domain score. The wording comes from the aggregation rule (12.2.1) and the table of thresholds (12.2).
Plain reading. A domain score is the average of the scores of the dimensions in that domain. To certify, a person needs each of the four domain scores at 2.0 or higher. This is one of six rules, and all six must be met (12.2).
Not part of STEP
Two sets of words in the Standard look close to STEP and its codes. Neither is one of the nine dimensions or four domains.
The scenario-authoring lifecycle, U1 to U5.
The Standard's wording. The lifecycle "is retained as an authoring and elicitation checklist. It is not a scoring model, is not reported, and does not appear on any credential." (Annex B.1)
Plain reading. U1 to U5 are the stages of a checklist used to write assessment scenarios. Annex B.1 shows, for each dimension, where in writing a scenario evidence for it is gathered. The U codes are not scored, they are not reported, and they appear on no credential.
"Dimension" in the AI Readiness Index.
The Standard's wording. "The AIR APAC AI Readiness Index uses 'dimension' for its organisational public-signal components. Those are referred to in this Standard as Index signal components to avoid collision. The two models share no structure and are not convertible." (3, Naming note)
Plain reading. The AI Readiness Index uses the word "dimension" for signals about organisations. AIRS-J/1 calls these Index signal components, so that the two uses of the word are kept apart. They are not the nine dimensions under STEP. A figure from the Index cannot be turned into an AIRS-J/1 result, and an AIRS-J/1 result cannot be turned into an Index figure.
What these entries do not claim. They explain words only. They do not say why there are four domains or nine dimensions. The Standard calls nine dimensions "a reporting hypothesis, not an established factor structure" (5.1). The plain readings do not change the Standard.
AIR APAC publishes the standard for judgment in AI-enabled work, certifies people against it through its official instrument, and stands behind every result.