What does Annex F say about the instrument?
Annex F of AIRS-J/1 brings the StepSim instrument specification into the Standard. This page reads Annex F plainly: what it incorporates, what the specification sets out and does not set, how it changes, and how a reader uses it.
AIRS-J/1 · INSTRUMENT SPECIFICATION
Annex F of AIRS-J/1 brings the StepSim instrument specification into the Standard. This page reads Annex F plainly: what it incorporates, what the specification sets out and does not set, how it changes, and how a reader uses it.
Judgment is how well a person decides once AI has given the answer. AIRS-J/1 is the Standard against which AIR APAC certifies judgment in AI-enabled work. Annex F is the part of the Standard that names its official instrument and brings that instrument's specification into the Standard.
What does Annex F say?
Annex F opens with one sentence: StepSim's instrument specification, "AIRS-J/1 instrument specification: StepSim" version 2.0.0, "is incorporated in this Standard by reference and is published with it on release".
Incorporated by reference means that the specification counts as part of the Standard, although it is published as a separate document. The specification is version 2.0.0. It is dated 3 October 2026, was released on 5 October 2026, and is incorporated in AIRS-J/1 v2.3.
What does the specification set out?
Annex F lists five things that the specification sets out. In plain words:
- Observations. How the acts that StepSim records become observations for each of the nine dimensions.
- Levels. The rule for each level of the scale.
- Scenarios. The decision points in each scenario, and the stakes profile of each scenario.
- Volume. The number of Assessment scenarios that a certifying result needs.
- Fit with the Standard. How StepSim meets Section 8 (assessment methods and evidence), Section 9 (assessment integrity) and Section 10 (confidence).
This page names no scenario, no decision point and no answer. A certifying scenario that appears in public preparation material is retired from certification use (Section 9.3).
What does it not set?
The specification adds nothing to the rubric. In its own words, it "sets no dimension, anchor, threshold or band of its own". Where the specification conflicts with AIRS-J/1, AIRS-J/1 takes precedence on what is assessed (specification, section 1).
The Standard says the same from its side. The rubric in Section 7 "depends on no product's interaction design: an instrument implements it, it does not define it" (Section 16.3).
Can a scoring rule sit outside the published text?
No. A legal, risk or compliance reader can check that no scoring rule sits outside the published text. The header of the Standard states: "No scoring criterion applied in certification exists outside these two documents". The two documents are AIRS-J/1 and this specification. Section 4.1 adds that any criterion found in neither of them "does not exist".
How does a rule change?
A rule in the specification changes only with a new version of the Standard. Annex F states: "A change to the specification that changes a rule is released with a new version of this Standard". Where monitoring shows that a claim needs strengthening, AIR APAC fixes the instrument, the rule or the anchor in the next release (Section 4.8).
How does a reader trace a result to the rules?
A reader in HR or learning can trace a result back to those rules. Every candidate's report names the anchors applied and the evidence cited for each observation (Section 12.5).
A candidate may appeal a certification-status decision or an employment-grade result released to an employer within 30 days. The review looks for a rule or anchor applied wrongly, evidence the instrument extracted wrongly, a technical failure or a procedural failure. A development reading is not appealable (Section 18.5).
Who builds the instrument?
Built by Exeter Labs
Exeter Labs builds and operates StepSim, AIR APAC's official assessment instrument. The owner of AIR APAC also owns Exeter Labs. The Standard declares this in Section 4.9, and Section 16.3 names StepSim as the official instrument.
Further instruments may be approved against Sections 8, 9 and 10, and AIR APAC publishes the list of approved instruments and their owners (Section 16.3).
What this does not claim
- Every reading is scored by published rules and traces to what the person did. The validation report is published as the checks in the Standard are met.
- This page does not claim that StepSim, or any result from it, has completed validation. Section 11.7 sets out the validation programme and the checks that the validation report must show.
- This page does not claim that any other instrument has been approved.
AIR APAC publishes the standard for judgment in AI-enabled work, certifies people against it through its official instrument, and stands behind every result.