M.Com. (Industrial Psychology) / Behaviorally anchored performance appraisal research concentrates mainly on the development of a scientifically verifiable instrument. The recommendations made in these studies to enhance the effective and practical use of the systems are, however, normally neglected in further studies. Performance appraisal entails more than just the development of a superior psychometric system. Therefore more attention should be paid to the success of the total performance appraisal approach rather than the individual instrument.