How Was MAPP™ Developed?

The model for MAPP has been used sucessfully by businesses for over 50 years to help them identify and hire the right employees. During that time, the model has been continually tested, expanded and refined. The application of leading-edge technology has resulted in further enhancements, including online testing and instantaneous results.

The precursor of today’s MAPP system was developed by Kenneth George Neils. Ken was born and raised in Libby, Montana, where his family owned a large lumber-milling operation. Ken grew up in the logging industry, working jobs that ranged from cutting trees to billing customers. He learned early in his career that serious injury and even death plagued his family’s business. Many good people lost their limbs and their lives operating the heavy equipment that was used to harvest trees. Ken could see that many factors influenced how effective and proficient different people were in performing their jobs.

After World War II, Ken undertook in earnest the development of what is now known as the MAPP Assessment System. He wanted to find a better way of fitting people to jobs than just their desire to perform the work. In the early days, Ken spent hours and sometimes even days compiling evaluations from each assessment. Today, after the investment of millions of dollars, what literally took days can be accomplished in mere seconds.

During the 50 years he was developing and refining his system, Ken worked with and learned from many of the leaders in the Industrial Psychology field: Dr. Frank DuMas, Professor of Industrial Psychology at the University of Montana; Dr. George Frederick Kuder, author of the Kuder profiles; and Dr. David E. Barbee, Director for the Center of Advanced Learning Systems at the U.S. Department of Labor. These individuals played significant roles in the development and direction of the current MAPP.

International Assessment Network (IAN), a Minnesota-based technology company, became involved in 1996, applying technology to the assessment process and allowing individuals to access MAPP via computer from anywhere in the world. IAN also began adapting and developing the MAPP Student Assessment System, a career exploration and self-discovery tool now available to students age 13 and older.