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1 | Leadership | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | Individual Contributor | Manager | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 | Junior Product Designer | Product Designer | Senior Product Designer | Lead Product Designer | Principal Product Designer | Product Design Manager | |||||||||||||||||||||
4 | Product Strategy | • Asks insightful questions to clarify objectives or identify missing details, demonstrating curiosity and eagerness to understand the product context • Identifies specific gaps or improvement areas, such as unclear requirements or missing use cases, in problem definitions • Works with senior product, engineering, and design roles to ensure alignment before progressing further into a project • Researches the market and user and validates needs through customer feedback • Builds foundational knowledge in the strategic considerations of product teams in technology companies | • Reads and interprets project requirements, connecting them to broader product strategy and goals, ensuring alignment with user needs • Creates clear and actionable plans for how they will deliver their work in alignment with other roles in the business • Proactively identifies opportunities for improvement in problem definitions and proposes solutions considerated of the broader product strategy and goals • Works independently with cross-functional roles, seeking feedback from senior roles at agreed milestones • Conducts thorough market and user research to validate customer and business needs • Ensuring research insights inform the product direction and support strategically-aligned product decisions • Justifies ideas based on evidence, such as user data, design research, or market analysis, rather than intuition • Recognises industry patterns and trends • Has working knowledge of the relevant strategic considerations for the business, and technology companies more broadly | • Deeply understands the product and industry landscape, contributing insights that shape product direction and strategy • Creates clear and actionable plans for how they and/or their team mates, will deliver their work in alignment with other roles in the business • Identifies and addresses gaps or opportunities in product tactics and strategy • Leads cross-functional conversations to ensure strategic and tactical alignment and resolve ambiguity • Works independently with product, engineering, and design leadership • Leads customer research initiatives, synthesising findings to shape product vision and strategy • Anticipates customer needs and uses evidence-based insights to influence product decisions • Helps identify and capitalises on industry trends, positioning the product ahead of the competition • Defines clear and achievable paths for complex product challenges, using established frameworks and processes when relevant | • Handles complex and ambiguous strategic challenges within product, defining clear paths forward and aligning cross-functional teams • Identifies strategic opportunities and ensures the team addresses the most impactful problems • Mentors designers in strategic considerations, ensuring effective collaboration with stakeholders, and ensuring cohesive alignment across the team • Defines and leads strategy-focused research that provide important insights, supporting both short-term execution and long-term strategy • Incorporates customer research insights into product strategy, ensuring the customer needs are central to decision-making • Leverages a deep understanding of industry patterns to identify strategic opportunities • Fosters alignment between colleauges colleagues, ensuring shared understanding of product vision, and understand or reslolve complex problems • Takes a leadership role in various cross-functional initiatives that contribute to overall product success | • Acts as a subject-matter expert on the product, providing strategic guidance and influencing key product decisions • Builds consensus among product teams and stakeholders, ensuring alignment behind the shared strategic vision • Leads strategic initiatives that address major gaps or opportunities relating to product strategy • Supports product leadership to communicate strategic activies and considerations during conversation with C-level • Provides mentorship to cross-functional roles on strategic topics • Designs and oversees high-impact research initiatives, connecting findings directly to the product strategy to inform decision making • Identifies business, market, and customer insights that drive innovation and influence the product roadmap • Decision-maker regarding key strategic concerns, in particular those relating product design and development • Highly intuitive expert, capable of leverage deep knowledge of design/product best practices and processes to deliver work as needed • An expert collaborator and facilitatior who is also able to operate with complete autonomy on the most complex challenges within the business | • Provides strategic guidance that influences key product decisions • Leads the team in identifying and addressing the most high-impact opportunities, ensuring alignment with the companies strategic objectives • Fosters collaboration across teams, ensuring each project contributes to broader strategic goals • Champions user and market research at a strategic level, ensuring insights and data are informing the product roadmap and company strategy • Guides the team in recognising and capitalising on industry trends, aligning strategy with emerging opportunities • Mentors the design team in strategic decision-making and thinking, ensuring their work is aligned with the broader company strategy • Plays a key role in cross-functional leadership, influencing overall company strategy | ||||||||||||||||||||
6 | Craft & Quality | • Demonstrates awareness of existing patterns and visual quality while occasionally exploring new approaches • Ensures consistency by following established design guidelines and standards • Focuses on improving details by incorporating feedback to strengthen visual and interaction quality • Learning the fundamentals design systems and methodologies • Has good pre-existing foundational skills in visual and graphic design | • Understands the design system and uses it effectively while contributing improvements where possible • Demonstrates growing attention to detail, with few quality issues and alignment with design standards • Actively seeks feedback to refine craft and ensure high-quality outcomes • Has good knowledge of established design patterns and components • Begins to routinely provide feedback to other designers, contributing to team quality standards | • Highly intuitive understanding of how to approach craft and quality relative to the context of a given project or system • Consistently sets a benchmark for quality design craft, serving as an example for the broader team • Balances business and user requirements when setting quality of craft/output • Leads initiatives to improve design quality across projects and systems/libraries, ensuring cohesive and polished output • Supports peers in achieving high levels of craft, providing actionable feedback and support • Introduces and champions new tools or processes that help elevate craft quality across the team • Expert knowledge of established design patterns and standards • Can execute on most craft-related work with a high degree of autonomy, typically requiring little feedback to deliver expected outcomes | • Highly intuitive understanding of how to approach craft and quality relative to the context of a given project or system • Consistently sets a benchmark for quality design craft, serving as an example for the broader team • Leads and supports the team in balancing business and user requirements when setting quality of craft/output • Leads initiatives to improve design quality across projects and systems • Mentors other designers in achieving high levels of craft, providing actionable feedback, critique and support • Introduces and champions new tools or processes that help elevate craft quality across the team • Expert knowledge of established design patterns and standards • Can execute on most craft-related work with a high degree of autonomy, typically requiring little feedback to deliver expected outcomes | • Sets the bar for quality across the design organization, with work regarded as an example of design excellence and craftsmanship • Drives the adoption of best practices in design, ensuring consistency and excellence across all design efforts • Inspires the team to push the boundaries of quality by hosting quality workshops and critiques, sharing exemplary work, and fostering a culture of craftsmanship and continuous improvement and feedback • Provides strategic direction on craft quality, ensuring the design language evolves with the product | • Guides and supports the team in establishing and maintaining the highest possible design standards • Ensures that design quality is a priority across all projects, balancing high standards with outcome-focused delivery • Supports the team in developing their craft by providing feedback, resources, and opportunities for growth • Works to ensure the product and business stand out for the quality of design and craftmanship | ||||||||||||||||||||
8 | User-Centered Design | • Learns basic user-centered design principles and applies them under guidance • Conducts usability testing with support and uses results to make small improvements • Begins advocating for user needs within the team | • Uses user-centered design principles and methodologies to effectively deliver required outcomes • Independently plans and conducts user research and testing, synthesising research findings to inform design decisions • Routinely advocates for user needs within the team • Familiar with balancing user and business needs | • Demonstrates expertise and experience in the application of user-centered design principles and methodologies • Initiates and leads user research or testing initiatives to understand user requirements clearly and deeply • Uses insights from research synthesis to shape product strategy and ensure design decisions are user-focused • Advocates strongly for user needs within the team and broader organization • Confidently and effectively balances user and business needs | • Demonstratres expertise in user-centered design principles and methodologies whilst also developing related approaches for the team • Leads user research initiatives to help understand user needs and requirements • Uses insights from research synthesis to shape product strategy and ensure design decisions are user-focused • Advocates strongly for user needs within the team and broader organization • Raises awareness among stakeholders of business-critical user-centered insights that can inform strategy and decision making • Expert at balancing user and business needs whilst supporting the team to do the same | • Defines the vision for user-centered practices across the team or department • Monitors effectiveness of user-centered design work, evolving approaches to meet ongoing and future challenges • Balances relevant expertise in user-centered design principles with strong intuition • Leads user research initiatives to deeply understand user needs • Uses research synthesis to uncover strategic insights and influence the product roadmap • Advocates strongly for user needs within the team and broader organization • Raises awareness among stakeholders of business-critical user-centered insights that can inform strategy and decision making • Expert at balancing user and business needs whilst supporting the team to do the same • Mentors and leads others in applying user-centered design | • Champions a culture of user-centered design throughout the organization • Ensures the team and broader organization have the resources to understand and prioritize user needs effectively • Advocates strongly for user needs within the team and broader organization • Aligns stakeholders around user-centered insights • Ensure a balanced approach to user and business needs within the team and wider organization • Mentors team members on how to applying user-centered design for maximum impact | ||||||||||||||||||||
10 | Communication & Collaboration | • Shares work regularly in team critiques and actively engages with feedback • Demonstrates openness and willingness to listen and learn • Communicates design intent to teammates clearly, ensuring understanding • Participates in workshops led by more senior team members • Attends team meetings to understand processes and provide input as needed • Learning various different approaches to communicating about the work in progress and completed work | • Comfortable presenting work and sharing opinions within the organisation, and articulating design decisions clearly • Shows an open-minded and willing attitude in conversation, paired with strong listening skills • Pro-actively participates in discussions, contributing valuable insights and listening to others' perspectives • Collaborates effectively with engineers and product managers, ensuring designs are implemented as intended • Co-facilitates smaller workshops or working sessions with guidance • Good foundational approaches to sharing work in progress and completed work within the team | • Highly confident presenting work, sharing opinions, and articulating design decisions within the organisation • A strong listener who values the business outcomes of collaboration over being 'right' • Leads discussions and helps resolve conflicts or build consensus • Comfortable facilitating workshops and meetings • Creates an inclusive environment in team meetings, ensuring a diverse array of voices are heard and understood • Ensures that team members understand what they're doing and why (business level and IC) • Has an effective and routine practice/approach to sharing work in progress and completed work | • Represents the design perspective in broader department or leadership meetings, ensuring alignment with product goals • Highly confident presenting work, sharing opinions, and articulating design decisions within the organisation • Delegates tasks effectively, ensuring the right people are involved and collaboration is seamless • A strong listener who values the business outcomes of collaboration over being 'right' • Leads discussions and helps resolve conflicts or build consensus • Comfortable facilitating workshops and meetings • Creates an inclusive environment in team meetings, ensuring a diverse array of voices are heard and understood • Ensures that team members understand what they're doing and why (business level and IC) • Coaches others on effective communicaiton facilitation techniques and the value of successful collaboration • Has an effective and routine practice/approach to sharing work in progress and completed work | • Represents the design perspective in broader department or leadership and executive meetings, ensuring alignment with product goals and broader business strategy • An expert storyteller who confidently pitches and shares work, articulating outcome-focused design decisions within (or outside) the organisation • Delegates tasks effectively, ensuring the right people are involved and collaboration is seamless • A strong listener, who values the business outcomes of collaboration over being 'right' • Leads discussions and helps resolve conflicts or build consensus • Comfortable facilitating workshops and meetings focusing on high-impact, strategically-focused work • Creates an inclusive environment in team meetings, providing leadership whilst ensuring a diverse array of voices are heard and understood • Ensures that team members understand what they're doing and why (business level and IC) • Coaches others on effective communicaiton facilitation techniques and the value of successful collaboration • Has an effective and routine practice/approach to sharing work in progress and completed work | • Actively promotes company culture and values, encouraging open communication and dialogue • Guides the team in effectively sharing and collaborating to foster an inclusive design environment • Ensures strong cross-functional relationships, empowering the team to collaborate effectively across departments • Leads or facilitates high-impact workshops relating to strategic initiatives and broader company vision or mission • Facilitates departmental or company-wide meetings, ensuring designs voice is well-represented • Develops frameworks for effective meeting facilitation, empowering team members to run productive and inclusive sessions • Defines and nutures effective and routine practices/approaches to how team members sharing work in progress and completed work | ||||||||||||||||||||
12 | Accountability & Responsiblity | • Responsible primarily for individual tasks • Focused on meeting personal quality standards and delivering work as assigned • Learning to take ownership of one's own output and understanding its impact | • Starts taking responsibility at the project or feature level alongside individual responsibilites • Coordinates with team members to ensure alignment and successful delivery • Contributes to the team's success while balancing individual responsibilities • Familiar with different approaches to responsibility assignment (e.g. RASCI) and how different roles operate and intersect throughout the design lifecycle | • Accountable for the success of entire projects as well as individual work within • Ensures that the team is aligned, knows their roles, and delivers effectively • Is knowledgeable of the common roles and responsibilities within project work • Can solve role and stakeholder issues when they arise, e.g. by applying frameworks like RASCI to bring clarity | • Accountable for the success of entire projects, including that of less senior team members involved • Responsible for design leadership on complex projects • Skilled at aligning roles and stakeholders, anticipates challenges upfront • Strong understanding of the stakeholders and particpants that should be involved in project phases and decision making, and can employ different relevent frameworks where necessary | • Accountable for both the success of projects deliverables and successfully acheiving their strategic objectives • Guides colleagues and team members, drives consensus, and influences stakeholders to achieve shared goals • Acts as a key driver and voice of product strategy and direction • Expert understanding of the stakeholders and particpants that should be involved in project phases and decision making, and can employ different relevent frameworks where necessary | • Accountable for the overall outcomes of the team and each designer's growth • Responsibile for supporting the business with strategy and project decisions, and team development • Creates an environment of accountability and ensures everyone is empowered to take ownership of their responsibilities • Expert understanding of the stakeholders and particpants that should be involved in project phases and decision making, and can employ different relevent frameworks where necessary | ||||||||||||||||||||
14 | Agile Working & Startup Life | • Learns the basics of agile methodologies • Participates in ceremonies such as standups and retrospectives • Learns to adapt to quick changes in scope and priorities • Can work well under pressure | • Participates actively in agile rituals and helps refine and improve processes when asked • Works iteratively, seeking rapid feedback and making adjustments • Comfortable adapting to quick changes in scope and priorities • Can work well under pressure | • Participates actively in agile rituals and proactively helps refine and improve processes • Works iteratively, seeking rapid feedback and making adjustments • Takes a lead role in fostering alignment within product and engineering on sprint goals • Skilled at adapting quickly to changes in scope and priorities | • Leads design sprints and workshops that align with/support agile practices • Participates actively in agile rituals and proactively helps refine and improve processes • Works iteratively, seeking rapid feedback and making adjustments • Takes a lead role in fostering alignment within product and engineering on sprint goals • Skilled at adapting quickly to changes in scope and priorities | • Leads design sprints and workshops that align with/support agile practices • Participates actively in agile rituals and proactively helps refine and improve processes • Works iteratively, seeking rapid feedback and making adjustments • Takes a lead role in fostering alignment within product and engineering on sprint goals • Skilled at adapting quickly to changes in scope and priorities • Takes a vocal/lead role in advocating for working practice best suited to startup environments | • Leads design sprints and workshops that align with/support agile practices • Develops and refines team processes to align with agile and startup methodologies • Takes a vocal/lead role in advocating for working practice best suited to startup environments • Coaches and mentors the design team to ensure they balances speed with quality in a fast-paced, iterative environment • Skilled at adapting quickly to changes in scope and priorities | ||||||||||||||||||||
16 | Action & Impact | • Meets project deadlines, ensuring work does not hold up the team's progress • Seeks help when blocked, ensuring consistent progress • Learning about how to best use and develop their skills for maximum impact | • Consistently meets deadlines • Gradually finds new ways to improve their efficiency and work quality • Understands the value of delivering on time, balancing quality with speed • Takes responsibility for ensuring work progresses steadily towards delivery • Uses their skills effectively to undertake impactful work | • Consistently meets deadlines • Routinely finds ways to improve personal effiency and quality of work • Prioritises delivering outcomes over output, understanding that 'perfect' is the enemy of good • Proactively identifies blockers and works to resolve them, ensuring continuous progress and timely, effective delivery | • Consistently meets deadlines • Finds ways to improve both personal and team efficiency, raising the standard of work across the team • Prioritises delivering outcomes over output, understanding that 'perfect' is the enemy of good • Proactively identifies blockers and works to resolve them, ensuring continuous progress and timely, effective delivery | • Work almost exclusively on the most high impact, innovate, and complex challenges within the business • Consistently meets deadlines or deliver work early • Operate with extreme effiency, reliably producing exceptional work outcomes • Identifies areas of improvement to drive and nurture team efficiency and impact • Prioritises delivering outcomes over output, understanding that 'perfect' is the enemy of good • Proactively identifies blockers and works to resolve them, ensuring continuous progress and timely, effective delivery • Operates strategically, driving improvements that lead to significant product and business impact | • Ensures each designer understands their impact on product and team success • Drives a culture of accountability and impact, making sure the team understands how their work contributes to company goals • Operates strategically, driving improvements that lead to significant team, product, and business impact • Actively identifies blockers and works to resolve them, ensuring continuous progress and timely delivery | ||||||||||||||||||||
18 | Leveling-Up Others | • Participates in hiring or promotion processes as needed, providing feedback on candidates when appropriate • Assists teammates by sharing learned knowledge | • Offers valuable feedback and critique to peers when opportunities arise • Participates in hiring or promotion processes as needed, providing feedback on candidates • Helps onboard new team members, sharing knowledge to assist their growth • Proactively assists team and collaborators by sharing learned knowledge • Provides informal mentorship to junior designers when opportunities arise | • Proactively offers expertise, actionable feedback, and constructive critcism throughout the team • Participates in hiring processes, including drafting or reviewing job descriptions, attending interviews, and providing feedback on candidates • Helps onboard new team members, sharing knowledge to assist their growth • Assists team, collaborators, and the broader organization by sharing learned knowledge • Identifies opportunities for other designers to grow, encouraging and supporting them to take on challenging tasks | • Proactively offers expertise, actionable feedback, and constructive critcism throughout the team • Participates in hiring processes, including drafting or reviewing job descriptions, attending interviews, and providing feedback on candidates • Helps onboard new team members, sharing knowledge to assist their growth • Shares knowledge and ideas with the team, collaborators, and the broader organisation • Identifies opportunities for others to grow, actively mentoring and coaching designers, supporting them to succeed in challenging tasks • Advocates for the growth of others, ensuring designers have access to opportunities to develop new skills | • Proactively offers expertise, actionable feedback, and constructive critcism throughout the team • Participates in hiring processes, including drafting or reviewing job descriptions, attending interviews, and providing feedback on candidates • Helps onboard new team members, sharing knowledge to assist their growth • Shares knowledge and ideas with the team, collaborators, and the broader organisation • Identifies opportunities for others to grow, actively mentoring and coaching designers, supporting them to succeed in challenging tasks • Advocates for the growth of others, ensuring designers have access to opportunities to develop new skills • Inspires and attracts top talent to the organization, setting the standard for the design team • Designs and implements initiatives that help the entire design organization grow | • Determines the most effective roles needed for design to operate in the business and basis hiring plans around this • Runs hiring processes for design team members and participates in hiring senior roles across the organization • Manages the onboarding of new team members, sharing knowledge to assist their growth and set them up for success • Demonstrates strong leadership • Actively supports team development by providing clear career guidance and growth pathways • Creates and maintains programs that systematically elevate the skills of the design team | ||||||||||||||||||||
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