11. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining step comprises the steps of: forming a plurality of terminal nodes, wherein each said terminal node contains a unique subset of said items, wherein said plurality of terminal nodes is formed by grouping said items to minimize deviance among items within each said terminal node and maximize deviance among items from different terminal nodes.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining step comprises the steps of: forming a plurality of terminal nodes, wherein each said terminal node contains a unique subset of said items, wherein said plurality of terminal nodes is formed by grouping said items to minimize deviance among items within each said terminal node and maximize deviance among items from different terminal nodes. 12. The method of claim 11, comprising the further step of: redefining said k hypothesized skills to form a set of k' redefined skills such that each of said k' redefined skills represents one of said terminal nodes.