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Please duplicate this rubric for your personal use. · View ArticleJuniorMid-LevelSeniorLeadPrincipal
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Weak · ★☆☆☆☆Developing · ★★☆☆☆Solid · ★★★☆☆Strong · ★★★★☆ — Eligible for manager career trackExceptional · ★★★★★Redfines · ★★★★★ & Beyond
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1. Product Thinking
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User UnderstandingDeveloping an understanding of the user

You understand the people who use your product, their goals, use cases, and tasks to achieving those goals.
Solid understanding of the user

You're able to revise your past understanding of the user, confidently know their needs, and make informed product decisions based on their needs.
Strong understanding of the user

You're the go-to person on your team who understands current user needs and goals. People rely on you to share your understanding with other teammates.
Expert understanding of user

Your deep understanding of the user helps you identify unmet needs and goals of the user for your immediate team.
Identify organization-level knowledge gaps and opportunities for users

Your deep understanding of the user helps you identify unmet needs and goals of the user for the larger product team or organization.
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Business UnderstandingDeveloping an understanding of your product

You understand your product's goals, its feature-sets, and the competitors in your product space.
Solid understanding of your product

You understand why your product is created the way it is, how those product-decisions help users, and how competitors make their product-decisions.
Strong understanding of your product and portfolio

Your knowledge extends to the products created by other teams in your organization. You understand how your product fits into the portfolio. You also understand competitor product portfolios.
Expert understanding of your team's product portfolio

You're a knowledge-leader for products created by the teams in your organization. You understand how all these products fit together. You also have a deep understanding of competitor product portfolios.
Identify product gaps and opportunities for your organization

You're a knowledge-leader and consistently find product opportunities for your organization. Others seek out your product sense and opinion.
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Product StrategyDeveloping an understanding of product strategy

You understand your organization's long-term product strategy and how your team's mission. You make reasonable product-decisions based on the strategy.
Solid contribution to team's short-term strategy

You're comfortable contributing to your team's product strategy and to the team's short-term roadmap. Your design work continually references your team's product goals.
Strong contribution to team's long-term strategy

Your understanding of the product space allows you to successfully influence your team's long-term strategy. You contribute ideas that strengthen your product, help users, and surpass competitors.
Expert contributor to team's long-term strategy

You lead your team's long-term product strategy and are the primary contributor.
Influence organization's long-term strategy

Your deep understanding of your product's long-term strategy allows you to influence other teams strategies at an organizational level.
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2. Interaction Design
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Design PatternsDeveloping understanding of design patterns

You have a preliminary understanding of design patterns for your product space (mobile, web, other) and how to use the patterns.
Solid understanding of design patterns

You understand many common design patterns in your product space, the human behaviors and technical constraints behind these patterns, and how to clearly communicate the pros and cons of each design pattern.
Strong understanding of design patterns

You understand all existing design patterns in your product space, the human behaviors and technical constraints behind these patterns, and how to clearly communicate the pros and cons of each design pattern. You teach others how to use design patterns.
Expert understanding of design patterns

You understand the human behaviors and technical constraints in an existing product space and how to create new design patterns based on these behaviors. You advocate for improving existing design patterns and others seek you out for design pattern guidance.
Design pattern pioneer

You create new design patterns in a new product space that has little-to-no existing design patterns to reference. You're an industry influencer for these new design patterns and are considered an innovator.
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Design SystemsDeveloping understanding of design systems

You understand the purpose of a design system and when to use one. You know when you're diverging from existing patterns within the design system and how that will affect other aspects of your product or organization.
Solid use of organization's design system

You have a thorough understanding of your organization's design system, how to use the system, and its technical constraints. You leverage the system to its fullest potential and inform others when you diverge from the design system with solid reasoning.
Strong use and contribution to your organization's design system

You identify gaps with your organization's design system and propose reasonable updates to existing design patterns. You work closely with engineering to implement these updated patterns to improve the design system. You update supporting documentation.
Expert contributor to organization's design system

You contribute new design patterns to your organization's design system. You are seen as an expert with these new patterns and others seek out your guidance. You work closely with engineering to implement new design patterns into the design system and codebase. You create supporting documentation.
Design system owner for your organization

You are the primary contributor to your organization's design system. You help others contribute design patterns to the design system. You work closely with engineering to ensure the system integrates perfectly with engineering and design workflows.
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PrototypingDevelop simple static prototypes

You leverage prototyping tools to create simple static prototypes to test flows.
Solid creation of click-through prototypes

You leverage prototyping tools to create click-through prototypes to test macro and micro interactions. You know which prototyping method to use for a given situation.
Strong creation of functional prototypes

You're able to create high fidelity prototypes using code to test macro and micro interaction patterns.
Expert in creating functional prototypes

You're able to create high fidelity prototypes using code and real data that meet engineering quality standards. You partner with engineering to test your prototypes with real users in production.
Design technologist

You work primarily in code to test design hypothesis. Others consider you a technologist and you're proficient in coding front-end interfaces. You teach others how to become better prototypers.
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3. Visual Design
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Color, Typography, Iconography, and LayoutDeveloping an understanding of UI

You leverage UI styles within an existing design system and have solid rationale behind UI choices.		Solid understanding of UI

You leverage UI styles within an existing design system in successful ways and have solid rationale behind UI choices. You're able to incorporate brand guidelines when needed. 		Strong understanding of UI

You craft beautiful UI that is functional and delightful. You always meet a high quality bar with your UI. You can evolve UI styles for an existing design system.		Expert understanding of UI

Your UI craftsmanship drives real business value in measurable ways. People seek out your advice on how to craft UI and you're seen as an expert. You can easily evolve UI styles and create new design systems.		Visual trendsetter

You're able to create unique and visually stunning UI that no other designers can. You push the entire design industry forward with your visual style. Your craftsmanship is unparalleled.
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MotionDeveloping an understanding of UI motion

You leverage minimal UI animation and your UI is static.		Solid in UI motion

You leverage simple UI animation to convey states and direct the user's attention.		Strong in UI motion

You have a strong understanding of how to animate UI elements in meaningful ways. You use timing and easing effectively. You work with engineering to implement animation to a proper spec.		Expert in UI motion

Not only do you know how to animate UI in meaningful ways, you can prove your animation drives real business value. You create the guidelines for other designers so they know how to properly animate UI within the constraints of a design system.
UI motion wizard

You create completely new and novel ways to animate UI elements that no other designer has before. You push the limit of what's possible while still working within technical constraints.
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4. Intentionality
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Design ProcessDeveloping a design process

Your process isn't fully defined yet but you can develop an idea into a product with help.
Solid design process

Your process is solid throughout the Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver phases. You may not always arrive at successful solutions at first, but eventually do.		Strong design process

Your process is well-defined and consistently leads you to successful solutions. You justify all design decisions with data and move fast through the Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver phases.		Expert in leading others through your process

Your process is recognized as being exceptional so others seek out your advice and skills. You lead others through your process and help them arrive at successful solutions.

Defines new design process

You find new and unique ways to accelerate your's and other's design process. You're a process owner and willing to share your knowledge with others.
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CommunicationDeveloping communication

You're developing your communication skills and ability to communicate your reasoning.		Solid communicator

You clearly communicate your reasoning to your team with confidence. You're also an active listener.
Strong communicator

You clearly communicate your reasoning to large groups and influence others. You focus on accuracy, conciseness, and completeness in the way you communicate. In addition, you have an inclusive mindset and can juggle other's perspectives along with yours.
Expert communicator

You can communicate complex ideas in simple and understandable ways. You have a gravity in they way you communicate, where you're seen as a major influencer. You can adjust your communication style to accommodate others. You can coordinate group discussions. 		Top voice at company or in the design industry

You have a platform for communicating broadly and can influence the company or design industry. People seek out your communication and trust it.
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CollaborationDeveloping collaboration

You tend to work in silos and share once you have designs ready. 		Solid collaborator

You work well with your cross-functional design partners. You encourage feedback from your team and other designers.
Strong collaborator

You bring your entire team into your design process and have an open mind to other's perspectives. You attend design critiques, design workshops, and sprints. You give feedback feely.
Expert collaborator

You bring your entire organization into your design process and have an open mind to other's perspectives. You organize design critiques, design workshops, and sprints.

Collaboration at massive scale

You're a shining example of how to successfully collaborate across the company or design industry and others seek out your advice on how to collaborate. You own design process related to collaboration.
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5. Drive
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LeadershipDeveloping ownership of your workload

You represent Product Design alongside Content Design and Research peers. Someone else on the UX team is leading the team's workload.
Solid co-ownership of UX team workload

You work closely with Content Design and Research and own the UX team's workload equally.		Strong ownership of UX team's workload

You drive product direction with Content Design and Research support. You're seen as the go-to person for your UX team. You partner with peers and key stakeholders to drive positive product impact on your team. You anticipate potential risks and proactively design solutions.
Expert in leading UX group workload

You lead UX across multiple teams in your group. You're seen as the go-to person for your UX group. You partner with peers, teams, and key stakeholders to drive positive product impact for your group. You focus on how the UX group will succeed, and not just your team.
Co-lead UX organization's work

You work closely with other UX leaders in your organization to drive positive product impact at scale. Your focused on how to make the company successful, and not just your pillar.
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CommunityYou're a mentee

You seek expert advice from experienced designers and have a desire to level up your design skills.
You're a successful mentee

You've made connections with mentors and have leveled up your skills. You are active in one or many design communities.
You're a mentor

You contribute back to the design community by teaching others. Others seek out your advice and relationship.		You're an expert community builder

You teach many designers, organize design events, and share your teaching to peers within your organization or company.		You're an influencer to many

Your influence extends beyond your company and into the design industry. Large groups of designers see you as a massive "connector" and primary community contributor.
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6. Self-Awareness
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Strengths & WeaknessesDeveloping an understanding of strengths

You're beginning to understand your strengths are as a designer. You spend considerable time on self-improvement.
Solid understanding of strengths and weaknesses

You have a solid understanding of what you're strong at and what you can improve over time.		Strong understanding of strengths and weaknesses

Your strengths are obvious to you and others. You consistently create plans to promote your strengths and improve your weaknesses.
Expert understanding of strengths and weaknesses

You have a long-term plan for your growth and understand exactly where you stand with your plan as well as how to achieve your goals. This is true for Lead and Principal level designers.
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This rubric is not a checklist. Every designer has their own unique skill set and is not expected to have every skill listed here. If you have feedback about this rubric, leave a comment.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0) International License. · Derivatives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6