Stufung

Stufung is a German noun derived from the verb stufen, meaning to step or to grade. In general usage, Stufung denotes the process of creating steps, levels, or tiers within a system, or the result of such organization. The term is usually generic rather than a fixed technical concept, and its precise meaning varies by context.

In economics and business, Stufung describes tiered or graduated structures, such as Stufung der Tarife (tiered pricing) or Stufung von Boni and salaries (progressive scales). In planning and administration, a Stufung may refer to staged rollout or phased implementation, where changes are introduced step by step according to a schedule or criteria.

In education and evaluation, Stufung refers to the design of curricula or assessment that builds in steps of increasing difficulty, or the rating of performance on discrete levels. In materials science or quality management, it can denote a grading process, classifying items into size, quality, or risk levels, often by defined thresholds.

In risk communication and emergency planning, Stufung is used to describe levels of alert or response, such as a multi-level Stufung of risk or disaster response.

Note that Stufung is not a fixed technical term with a single standard definition; it is context-dependent. It should not be confused with Stufenfunktion, a mathematical term for a step function, which describes a function that changes value in a series of steps but is conceptually different from the general notion of staging. See also Stufenplan, Stufenmodell.