Quick Answer

Skills audit automation, set up at Library > Draft skills audits > Step 4 – Automated skill assessment, automatically assigns a Skills assessment when a user's self-rating on a Skills audit crosses a threshold you define; this stays entirely within KnowledgeSmart, and connecting the resulting assessment to Pinnacle Series personalized training is a separate, manual step taken afterward in Assignment Management.

What This Article Helps With

This article explains how to set up Skills audit automation, how to track which test invites and results came from an automation rule rather than a manual assignment, and how to manually connect a completed automated assessment to Pinnacle Series personalized training. It applies to KnowledgeSmart Administrators, and to Pinnacle Series Assignment Administrators and Assignors for the Pinnacle Series step.

What Is Skills Audit Automation?

Skills Audit Automation lets you automatically assign a test when a user rates themselves at or below - or above - a certain level on a Skills audit. For example, if a user selects "2 – Beginner" on their AutoCAD Civil 3D rating, a targeted test can be automatically assigned for validation.

How to Set Up Automation Rules

1. Go to Library > Draft skills audits.
2. Open your draft and go to Step 4 - Automated skill assessment.
3. Choose a Score Type - Average or Any.
4. Choose an Operator - for example, <= or >=.
5. Enter a Value - the self-rating number the rule triggers on, for example 2.
6. Select the Test to Assign from your KnowledgeSmart tests.
7. Select Add to activate the rule.

Once added, a rule automatically assigns the selected test as soon as a user completes the Skills audit and meets the threshold.

Tracking Auto-Assigned Tests

There are two places to track tests assigned by Skills audit automation.

Invite History

1. Go to Invites > History.
2. Expand the search options.
3. Use the filter Auto-assigned from a skills audit: Yes/No to see whether a test invite was triggered by an automation rule.

Test Results

1. Go to Results > Data.
2. Expand the search options.
3. Use the filter Test Assignment Source - Any, Manual, or Skills Audit Automation - to focus on results that came from an automation rule.

Export Columns Explained

When you export the consolidated Test data and look at the invite history or results tabs, these columns identify Skills audit automation activity:

These fields help you audit your automation rules, verify the logic is working as expected, and analyze engagement between subjective self-ratings and objective assessment results.

Connecting with Pinnacle Series

You can link validated assessment results from KnowledgeSmart to personalized training in Pinnacle Series. Once a user has completed the automatically assigned assessment that validated their self-rating, a Pinnacle Series Assignment Administrator or Assignor can manually connect that user to a personalized learning assignment to help close the skill gap it identified. This connection is not automatic.

How to Assign Training

1. Go to Assignments > Assignment Management.
2. Find the user's completed assessment.
3. Select the three-dot menu, then select Assign Training.

You'll see the default training templates linked to that assessment. From here you can remove or replace them, add additional training, set a due date, and apply threshold rules.

Training Thresholds

For example, you might assign training only if a user scores 30% or below, and skip training entirely if they score 80% or above.

Common Use Cases

• Validate new hire claims. Automatically assign a test when a new employee self-rates highly, to verify their actual skill level before skipping foundational training.
• Target project-specific skill gaps. Trigger assessments for users in critical roles - for example, BIM, Civil 3D, or Inventor - based on low confidence ratings.
• Avoid blanket training. Assign tests only to those who rate themselves as beginners, rather than training everyone regardless of need.
• Track perception vs. reality. Compare self-ratings with assessment scores to identify overconfidence, underconfidence, or misalignment across a team.
• Support compliance and audit readiness. Document that team members working on regulated or high-risk projects have validated competencies through objective testing.
• Identify rising talent. Spot people who self-rate low but score high on the validating assessment - candidates worth considering for accelerated development.

Helpful Tips

• See Using Automated Skill Assessment Logic Strategically for guidance on structuring rules and audits so automated assignments stay meaningful as you scale this up.
• See How to invite users to a Skills assessment, Survey or Skills audit for the training-threshold option available when assigning an assessment manually from Pinnacle Series - a separate, proactive route to the same No Training Above / All Training Below settings described here.

Common Questions

Does Skills Audit Automation assign anything in Pinnacle Series automatically?

No. The automation rule itself only assigns a KnowledgeSmart test. Connecting the completed test to Pinnacle Series personalized training is a separate, manual step taken afterwards in Assignment Management.

How do I tell whether a test invite was sent manually or by an automation rule?

Use the Auto-assigned from a skills audit filter on Invites History, or the Test Assignment Source filter on Test > Results > Data.

Can I still set training thresholds when assigning an assessment manually, rather than through automation?

Yes. The same No Training Above / All Training Below settings are available when an administrator manually assigns an assessment from Pinnacle Series, at the point of assignment.

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