Better Ability Paradigms for Maximum Productivity and Value
Innovating and Operating Through the Ability Curve Model
Organizations make critical decisions about people—employees, customers, and users—based on a flawed assumption: that individuals are either “able-bodied” or “disabled.” Real human capability doesn’t work that way. It is fluid, contextual, and unpredictable.
Ability exists on a continuum, shifting constantly with context, fatigue, environment, aging, and temporary injury. The same person who runs a marathon on Saturday may struggle with focus during a migraine on Tuesday. The engineer who excels in quiet environments may underperform in noisy ones. Even within a single day, performance changes—your best employee at 9 AM is not the same performer at 4 PM.
Father Time and Mother Nature are undefeated.
This keynote introduces the Ability Curve™—an evidence-based model that replaces binary labels with a dynamic continuum of human capability. When combined with the Task–Condition–Standard (TCS) framework, it provides a way to objectively assess what people can do, under specific conditions, and how work, products, and environments should be structured to match real human variability.
The implications of this shift are profound—and practical—once we stop designing for an “ideal user” and start designing for real people.
What Attendees Will Gain:
A modern, reality-based model of human capability
— moving beyond outdated binary labels to enable better decisions across hiring, product design, safety, and operations.
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The Task–Condition–Standard (TCS) framework
— a practical method for objectively assessing what any person can do under specific conditions, reducing guesswork and bias in capability evaluation. -
Actionable strategies for aligning work with real human performance
— improving productivity, reducing injury and burnout, and retaining talent across changing conditions and life stages. -
Design and product insights that expand market reach
— by accounting for context, fatigue, aging, and temporary limitations, not just permanent disability. -
A competitive advantage through capability intelligence
— organizations that design for the full ability curve create better solutions, reach underserved markets, and reduce costly after-the-fact accommodations. -
Tools that can be applied immediately
— attendees leave able to apply the framework to one hiring decision, one product feature, or one operational process before leaving the room.
60-minute and 90-minute programs