Typically, standard assessment processing mimics real eligibility determination: it involves the capture of evidence and the execution of rules against that evidence to determine potential eligibility. While determination-based assessments are standard assessments in their own right, they do not mimic real eligibility determination. Questionnaires are used to collect evidence, and the decision matrix is executed to determine the outcome.
Determination-based assessment processing begins with asking the person being assessed relevant questions to be used in the evaluation. If necessary, questionnaires can also be completed by third parties. For example, medical assessments may require input from a person's doctor. When more than one answer exists for the same question, a consolidation process must take place, wherein the user selects an answer from a set of answers given by multiple sources. This selected answer is used when making a decision. This can be done manually by the user or automatically by the system.
Answers recorded for the questionnaires are passed into a decision matrix, and one or more outcomes are determined. For example, the Juvenile Detention screening assessment is used to determine the placement level for an arrested youth. Information is recorded about the youth, such as whether or not the youth has committed any crimes of violence, and whether the youth has active warrants. The answers are passed into the decision matrix, and an outcome of 'Level 1' is returned, requiring the most secure placement level.
When change of circumstance processing is supported, new determinations can be created for a determination-based assessment based on the change of circumstances. Each determination has an effective date from which the change of circumstances is relevant