Design Team Levels Framework (Originally for Snagajob Design)

	A	B	C	D	F	G	I	J	L
1	This Levels Framework was created by Peter Merholz, originally for Snagajob Design. For context, read this blog post: https://orgdesignfordesignorgs.com/2017/05/12/design-team-levels-framework/ Rob Huddleston and Bridget Walsh from Snagajob did key foundational work. This was also informed by contract work Peter Merholz did with Capital One. For personal/internal use, go nuts. Have at it. If used in a public or semi-public forum (presentation, workshop, etc.) please attribute to Peter Merholz. Thanks!
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7		Contributor			Driver		Leader
8		Associate	Key	Senior	Lead / Staff		Principal
9	Theme	A supporting-level player who is honing their craft and working to understand organizational context	An established performer with strong communication skills who proactively builds relationships	A high-level performer with strong relationships and the ability to lead projects	A leading performer who prefers to manage projects over managing people.		Indispensable individual contributor.
10	Keywords	Professionalism, craft, focused effort	Communication, craft	Expertise, process, explain rationale, cross-functional	Depth, expertise, innovation, persuasion, strategic, confidence; programs not projects		Breadth, mentorship, evangelism, thought leadership, visionary, storytelling
11	Achievements (what person has done to arrive at this level)	Right out of school, quality portfolio, but little to no shipped work	Contributed to a couple of shipped projects	Contributed to multiple shipped products	Leads the delivery of shipped products; Delivered successful work at the scope of ‘product areas’		Leads teams in framing and solving hard problems; has driven innovative efforts that uncovered new value with new kinds of experiences; presents company as an industry leader in design
12	Delivery
13	Core Skills (see below)	Strong in 1, capable in 2 other	Strong in 2, capable in 2 others	Killer in 1, strong in 2, capable in 2 others	Killer in 2, strong in 2, capable in 1-2 others		Killer in 2, strong in 2, capable in 1-2 others
14	Process/Practice/Planning	Strong and capable engagement in standard design processes	Strong and capable engagement in standard design processes	Develops the process/approach for tackling a design problem, using known methods; anticipates problems	Develops and uses facilitation skills to engage cross-functional teams; Explores new patterns and practices, enhancing methodological toolkit; shifts from project planning to program planning		Completed shift to 'program,' working across multiple workstreams; develops new practices that drive increased value and appreciation of design both internally and externally.
15	Problem Solving	Learning best practices for common design problems; solutions are solid, though not novel	Confident in applying best practices to common design problems; solutions are solid, not novel	Begins going beyond best practices, and starts uncovering novel, unexpected, but still workable solutions	Develops problem-framing approaches, establishing new starting points that lead to new kinds of solutions, which affects strategic thinking, not just execution		Uses design methods not as a tool to solve execution problems, but to identify new opportunities for value creation
16	Scope	Solve specific function-level problems (e.g., "add to shopping cart")	Given specific product capabilities that need to be solved (e.g., Checkout process)	Leads the solution of a product area; connects that to broader product vision (e.g, product page and purchase experience)	Leading the solution of undefined problem spaces (e.g. “How can we reconsider how people look for and purchase items?")		Entire user experiences (e.g., "What is the end-to-end consumer/shopper experience?”) or leading special/innovation projects
17	Direction	Receives close direction	Receives direction	Self-directed	Directing other practitioners; influence 1-2 levels up and out	Directing cross-functional teams; mentorship and oversight	Directing cross-functional teams; executive partnership
18	Communication
19	Presentation	Developing skill for communicating rationale to team members	Confidently communicates decision-making rationale to team members	Communicates rationale to partners	Storytelling and persuasion techniques build trust with partners and establish long-term relationships; comfortable communicating at all levels of the organization; demonstrates confidence and charisma		Uses storytelling and persuasion to connect strategy and vision with day-to-day practicality
20	Cross-functional Meetings	Attending the meeting	Contributing to the meeting	Active planner of the meeting	Driving the meeting		Driving the meeting
21	Leadership	Doesn't take requirements as a given; makes sure there's a human perspective brought to bear	Emerging recognition that it's not all about design, but how design contributes to a broader goal; recognizes business goals and technical constraints	Clarifies success metrics and ties efforts toward delivering business value	Uses understanding of impact and success metrics to focus their team's efforts; Emerging understanding of broader organizational context and goals; Connects team's efforts with savvy grasp of ecosystem and organizational context; Developing an ability to articulate a vision		Actions reflect holistic, integrated understanding of organizational context; appreciates LOB-level strategy; Develops and articulates compelling vision for the team; Working with partners and stakeholders, begins making real change in how the company approaches its business
22	Orientations	Their design team	Their immediate product team	Their immediate product team	Primary: The design team they lead Secondary: Other Leads	Primary: The design team they lead Secondary: Other Leads/Staff	Primary: Organizational peers pursuing horizontal/big-picture challenges Secondary: Design and other product and engineering executives
23	Relationship with Team	Part of a team that they’ve been assigned to	Part of a team they’ve been assigned to	Part of a team they’ve been assigned to, in a leadership role; collaborating with cross-functional peers	Leading a team that's been given to you; defining the problem cross-functional peers; mentoring contributor-level practitioners		Creating the team you need; defining the problem with cross-functional leads; Influence at all levels of the organization; mentoring contributors and leaders;
24	Recruiting / Hiring	Attends campus recruiting sessions; able to communicate mission, values, and work of the design team	Refers people in their professional network for jobs	Active in screening and interviewing candidates; trained on best practices of hiring interviews; builds new networks of professional colleagues	Developing judgment for evaluation of talent; provides feedback for shape of their overall team		Attracts top-tier talent; demonstrates thought leadership and promotes company publicly as a leader in design
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26									Executive
27	Core Skills:		Management track ➔		Manager	Sr Manager/Associate Director	Director	Sr Director	VP
28	User Research Interaction Design Information Architecture Writing Visual Design Service Design Prototyping Front-end Development Video and Photo Production Concepting/Art Direction Quantitative Research and Analysis Animation			Themes	An organized leader and performer who pushes convention and drives change	Effective leader focused on building teams and process for high impact results	Dynamic leader, focused on strategic vision, growing talent and execution	Storyteller. Team Builder. Driver of cross-functional strategy.	Articulate a compelling vision; help run the company
29				Keywords	Persuasion, strategic, compassion, nurturing	Delegation, expertise, innovation, confidence, growth; programs not projects	Mentorship, new value creation, organization-wide leadership, planning; operations	Vision, storytelling, scaling, organization design	Recruiting and hiring; establishing culture; accountability; vision, evangelism
30				Achievements	Leads the delivery of shipped products; Delivered successful work at the scope of product areas	Has successfully managed 4-5 people; Demonstrated success managing others; able to drive multiple, related product areas	Significant management experience (teams up to 10 people); recruited and hired teams	Lead teams in framing and solving hard problems; has driven innovative efforts that uncovered new value with new kinds of experiences; has managed managers	Successfully run design organizations (of around 10-15 or fewer); Demonstrated ability to engage executive leadership across the company
31				Delivery
32				Core skills (see left)	Killer in 1, strong in 2, capable in 2 others	Killer in 1, strong in 2, capable in 2 others	Killer in 1, strong in 2, capable in 2 others	Killer in 1, strong in 2, capable in 2 others	Killer in 1, strong in 2, capable in 2 others
33				Process/Practice/Planning	Develops the process/approach for tackling a design problem, using known methods; anticipates problems; develops facilitation skills to engage cross-functional teams	Explores new patterns and practices, enhancing methodological toolkit; shifts from project planning to program planning, across multiple workstreams	Completed shift to 'program,' working across multiple workstreams; develops new practices that drive increased value and appreciation of design both internally and externally.	Articulates a new process framework for tackling design problems; involved in annual planning	Establish a philosophy/mindset for how the team approaches its work (e.g., The Double Diamond); involved in annual planning
34				Problem Solving	Begins to realize the power of problem-framing, establishing new starting points that lead to new kinds of solutions	Develops problem-framing capabilities, affecting strategic thinking, not just execution	Uses design methods not as a tool to solve execution problems, but to identify new opportunities for value creation	Realizes how shaping their organization drives new kinds of problem-solving.	Reframes company-wide "problems" to suggest new approaches for solving them.
35				Scope	Leading the solution of undefined problem spaces (e.g. “How do people complete a transaction?”)	Frees resources to drive change by systematically cutting low return activities	Entire user experiences (e.g., "What is the end-to-end shopper experience?”); Active in company-wide leadership iniitiatives	Entire user experiences (e.g., "What is the end-to-end shopper experience?”); Active in company-wide leadership initiatives; Drives new company initiatives	The Big Picture of an entire company's offerings, and how they integrate and coordinate
36				Communication
37				Presentation	Communicates design rationale, and uses storytelling techniques, with partners and stakeholders	Storytelling and persuasion techniques build trust with partners and establish long-term relationships; comfortable communicating at all levels of the organization; demonstrates confidence and charisma	Uses storytelling and persuasion to connect strategy and vision with day-to-day practicality	Uses storytelling and persuasion to connect strategy and vision with day-to-day practicality	Communicates compelling vision that makes new strategies concrete
38				Cross-functional Meetings	Driving the meeting	Driving the meeting	Driving the meeting when communicating up; stakeholder for when a lead/manager on your team is driving the meeting	Stakeholder for whom the meeting exists	Stakeholder for whom the meeting exists
39				Leadership	Uses understanding of impact and success metrics to focus and reprioritize their and their team's efforts; Emerging understanding of broader organizational context and goals;	Connects team's efforts with savvy grasp of ecosystem and organizational context; Developing an ability to articulate a vision	Strong delegation practices, recognizing that they cannot do the work directly and must be leveraged; Actions reflect holistic, integrated understanding of organizational context; appreciates LOB-level strategy; Develops and articulates compelling vision for the team	Working with partners and stakeholders, begins making real change in how the company approaches its business; Articulates vision for the team that excites and inspires leaders and partners	Establishes cultural practices that drive the team's behavior.
40				Orientations	Primary: Down (their org) (80) Secondary: Across (peers) (20)	Primary: Down (67) Secondary: Across (33)	Primary: Across (60) Secondary: Down (40)	Primary: Across Secondary: Down	Primary: Across Secondary: Up
41				Relationship with team	Leading a team that's been given to you; collaborating with cross-functional peers; Active in recruiting and hiring	Creating the team you need; defining the problem with cross-functional leads	Creating the team you need; defining the problem with cross-functional leads	Establishing the organizational structure, defining roles, opening headcount	Establishing the organizational structure, defining roles, opening headcount
42				People Management	Develops basic understanding of people management practices, particularly around professional development; emerging ability to delegate work to others	Creates opportunities for reports to grow and flourish; comfortable handling 7-8 direct reports	Begins to manage managers; coaches them toward strong people management practices; drives broader organizational efforts around culture, work, and values	Helps understand, create, and model team culture and values	Manages directors; shifts from 'management coaching' to 'executive coaching'; Helps directors understand how to leverage themselves
43				Recruiting / Hiring	Developing judgment for evaluation of talent; provides feedback for shape of their overall team	Identifies need for new people; shapes requisition; works with recruiter to find talent	Active in annual and ad hoc headcount planning for the organization; works to secure necessary budget	Attracts top-tier talent	Establishes recruiting and hiring practices for the team
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