STEMPLES Plus The Strategic-Assessment Framework — Foundation Course
Strategic adversary assessment requires more than tactical observation. It requires a structured framework that captures the full national-power context in which adversary capability is developed, sustained, and employed. STEMPLES Plus is the Treadstone 71 framework that operationalizes that requirement — eleven dimensions (Social, Technical, Economic, Military, Political, Legal, Educational, Security plus Religion, Demographics, Psychology) integrated with Hofstede cultural principles and Indicators of Change methodology.
This course is the foundational framework training — the methodology itself, taught as transferable analytic tradecraft. The applied versions of STEMPLES Plus — Russian STEMPLES Plus ($299) and Iranian STEMPLES Plus ($299) — demonstrate the framework against specific adversaries. This course teaches you the framework so you can apply it to any adversary, sector, threat actor, or strategic problem you encounter.
What You'll Learn
The STEMPLES Plus framework as transferable strategic-assessment methodology
- The Eleven Dimensions — Social, Technical, Economic, Military, Political, Legal, Educational, Security plus the "Plus" extensions of Religion, Demographics, and Psychology. What each dimension captures, why it matters for strategic assessment, and how the dimensions interact.
- Why STEMPLES Plus vs Classical PESTLE — the rationale for the extended framework. Security as a discrete dimension, plus the cultural-behavioral substrate captured in Religion, Demographics, and Psychology, address dimensions classical PESTLE under-weights for cyber and intelligence work.
- Hofstede Cultural Principles — integration of Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions (power distance, individualism-collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity-femininity, long-term orientation, indulgence-restraint) as cultural substrate for STEMPLES Plus assessments.
- Indicators of Change — the structural markers that signal capability and intent shifts before they manifest in observable operations. The forward-looking analytic discipline that distinguishes STEMPLES Plus from retrospective assessment.
- Cross-Dimensional Interaction — how the eleven dimensions interact rather than operate independently. Economic constraints shape Technical capability; Demographic structure shapes Educational pipeline; Religious-institutional structure shapes Political and Security posture. The interactions are where strategic insight lives.
- Applied Worked Examples — the framework demonstrated against multiple adversaries and problem types. Foundation for the dedicated applied courses (Russian, Iranian) but with transferable methodology that learners can apply to any adversary, sector, or strategic problem.
Course Content
The Methodology Behind the Applied Versions
STEMPLES Plus emerged from Treadstone 71's operational requirement for a structured strategic-assessment framework that captured the full national-power context shaping adversary capability. Classical frameworks (PESTLE, SWOT, Porter) were calibrated for business-strategy contexts and under-weighted the dimensions most relevant for cyber and intelligence work — Security as a discrete dimension separable from political-legal, and the cultural-behavioral substrate (Religion, Demographics, Psychology) that classical frameworks fold into "Social" or omit entirely. The "Plus" extension addresses those gaps. Hofstede integration provides the cultural-dimensions vocabulary. Indicators of Change methodology adds the forward-looking dimension that retrospective frameworks lack.
This foundation course teaches the framework as transferable methodology — not just how it applies to Russia or Iran but how to apply it to any adversary, sector, threat actor, or strategic problem the learner encounters. Worked examples demonstrate the framework against multiple cases. The cross-dimensional interaction logic gets explicit treatment because it is where the framework produces strategic insight rather than checklist output. Learners who complete this course can apply STEMPLES Plus to a Chinese adversary problem, a North Korean cyber capability assessment, a sector-level threat landscape estimate, or any other strategic problem requiring structured national-power context analysis. The applied versions (Russian, Iranian) demonstrate the framework against specific adversaries; this foundation course makes that methodology yours.
Strategic-Assessment Foundation of The Analyst Stack
This STEMPLES Plus foundation course is the strategic-assessment methodology component of The Analyst Stack ($6,999), complementing the analytic-method band (SATs, Critical Thinking, Analytic Writing) with the structured framework for strategic adversary and threat-landscape assessment. The applied STEMPLES Plus versions (Russian, Iranian) sit in the AI-Infused Cognitive Stack as worked-example demonstrations — taking both Stacks gives learners framework + multiple applied cases.
Common Questions
STEMPLES Plus Framework Foundation — FAQ
Intelligence analysts producing strategic estimates, CTI professionals working strategic-level assessments, IC analysts and policy advisors handling any adversary or sector portfolio, foreign service personnel requiring structured national-power assessment vocabulary, strategic communications and policy planning teams, and analytic methodology trainees learning transferable strategic-assessment tradecraft.
This is the foundation course teaching the framework itself as transferable methodology. Russian STEMPLES Plus ($299) and Iranian STEMPLES Plus ($299) are applied worked examples that demonstrate the framework against specific adversaries. Most learners benefit from the foundation course first, then one or both applied courses for worked-example reinforcement. The applied courses also stand alone for learners working those specific adversary problems.
Social, Technical, Economic, Military, Political, Legal, Educational, Security — plus Religion, Demographics, Psychology. Eleven dimensions integrated with Hofstede cultural principles and Indicators of Change methodology. The framework extends classical PESTLE analysis with the additional dimensions calibrated specifically for cyber and intelligence work — Security as a discrete dimension and the cultural-behavioral substrate captured in the "Plus" extension.
None formal. Familiarity with intelligence analysis, strategic assessment, or geopolitical analysis is helpful. Most learners benefit from also taking Structured Analytic Techniques ($1,499) as paired methodology grounding — SATs provides analytic technique catalog; STEMPLES Plus provides strategic-assessment framework. Both complement each other in working analyst practice.
Yes. This course is one of 10 components of The Analyst Stack ($6,999) — the strategic-assessment methodology component complementing the analytic-method band. Contributes to the CCIA (Certified Cyber Intelligence Analyst) certification track, which references STEMPLES Plus methodology throughout its curriculum.
Treadstone 71 developed the STEMPLES Plus strategic-assessment framework and has applied it operationally across two decades of strategic adversary work — Russian, Chinese, Iranian, North Korean, and non-state adversary assessments; sector-level threat-landscape estimates; capability dossiers; and strategic intelligence products at every level of consumer engagement. The foundation course distills two decades of operational application into transferable methodology. Veteran-owned, woman-led, NICCS-listed, IAFIE-aligned, operational since 2002.
Own the Framework. Apply It to Any Strategic Problem.
Self-paced. Intermediate-level. The STEMPLES Plus framework as transferable strategic-assessment methodology. Scroll up to enroll, or consider The Analyst Stack to combine this with SATs, Critical Thinking, Analytic Writing, and the full analyst methodology curriculum.
$399 USD Self-paced · Intermediate · Lifetime access · CPE credits