Mapping UX Core Competencies: A Practical Framework for Design Leaders

As a design leader, one of my biggest priorities is understanding the real strengths on my team — not just based on project outcomes, but through a clear lens of skills, capabilities, and growth potential.

Early in my leadership journey, I found that annual reviews and general feedback sessions weren’t enough. They often gave me high-level impressions like “strong collaborator” or “solid with IA,” but they didn’t show the full picture or where to focus development.

That’s when I built our UX Core Competency Matrix — a simple but powerful framework for evaluating, discussing, and growing the skills that matter most in product design.

Why a Competency Matrix Works

In UX, we often talk about mapping user journeys.
This is the same idea — but for our people.

Here’s what it’s helped us do:

• Bring clarity — Designers know exactly what’s expected at each stage of their career.

• Focus growth — We can target mentorship, training, and stretch projects based on clear needs.

• Align with business goals — Skills directly connect to impact on users and the business.

• Streamline hiring — It doubles as a benchmark for evaluating candidates.

The Eight Core Competencies

I broke our framework into eight categories:

1. Business Alignment – Translating company strategy into actionable UX direction.

2. Research & Data – Using qualitative and quantitative insights to inform design.

3. UX Design Execution – Information architecture, interaction design, UX copy, and prototyping.

4. Collaboration – Working effectively with PMs, BAs, engineers, and other designers.

5. Process Mastery – Adapting Agile, Lean UX, or Design Thinking methods to fit the problem.

6. Leadership – Guiding projects, setting expectations, and building team culture.

7. Design Systems & Governance – Scaling standards, components, and patterns across platforms.

8. AI & Emerging Practices – Integrating new tools (like AI) into research, design, and delivery.

How It’s Measured

We use a 0–5 scale for each competency:

• 0 – No understanding

• 1 – Basic awareness

• 2 – Can apply with guidance

• 3 – Can apply independently

• 4 – Can mentor others

• 5 – Innovates & sets new standards

The important part:
Every category has specific, observable behaviors. For example, in Research & Data, a Level 3 designer might independently run usability tests and synthesize unbiased findings, while a Level 5 designer creates new research methods or frameworks.

What’s Changed Since Using It

Since adopting the competency matrix, I’ve noticed three big shifts:

1. More focused 1:1s – Instead of vague “how’s it going” chats, we talk about targeted skill areas.

2. Smarter project staffing – I can match designers to projects that fit their strengths while stretching them in the right ways.

3. Self-awareness and ownership – Designers can see exactly where they stand and choose their growth areas for the next cycle.

Not a Ranking — A Roadmap

This framework isn’t about putting people in boxes.
It’s about giving them a shared language for growth.

In fast-paced product environments, it’s easy to get caught up in delivery and overlook development. But a skill map ensures that while we’re designing better products, we’re also building better designers.

If you’d like to put this framework into action, I’ve created a complete UX Core Competency Evaluation Toolkit — the same one I use with my own team.
It includes:

• Clear definitions for each competency

• A blank matrix chart to map skills

• A fillable checkbox grid for evaluations

📄 Download the UX Core Competency Evaluation Toolkit and start mapping your team’s strengths and growth areas today.

💬 I’d love to hear from other design leaders:
Do you use a competency framework for your team?
If not, what would your top 5 core skills be?

From UX Vision to Measurable Action: My Process for Turning Strategy into Reality

When people think about a UX vision, they often imagine a short, aspirational statement.
But for me, a vision is only valuable if it’s operationalized — if it gives teams clear priorities and leaders clear outcomes to measure.

This is how I approached defining and executing the UX vision for two products: Suzy (B2B insights platform) and Crowdtap (B2C community).

Step 1 – Listen Before Leading

I began by gathering input from multiple sources:

• Stakeholder business goals – What leadership needed to achieve in the next 12–18 months.

• Consumer sentiment – Pain points and aspirations directly from users.

• Design debt – The gaps, inconsistencies, and inefficiencies uncovered in product audits.

By combining these perspectives, I avoided a “design-only” vision and ensured the foundation was cross-functional from day one.

Step 2 – Craft Focused Vision Statements

With the insights synthesized, I created two tailored vision statements — one for each product:

Suzy:

Empower users of all skill levels to create high-quality surveys and uncover actionable insights through intuitive, transparent, and innovative tools that drive confident, informed decisions.

Crowdtap:

Create an inclusive, rewarding experience that motivates meaningful participation, fosters trust, and builds long-term community engagement.

These weren’t just feel-good phrases. They were the anchor points that every future decision had to align with.

Step 3 – Translate Vision into Strategic Pillars

I distilled the vision into five pillars — broad enough to guide multiple teams, specific enough to prioritize work:

1. Guided First Steps – Remove uncertainty from onboarding and navigation.

2. Task Focus & Efficiency – Streamline creation flows, reduce cognitive load.

3. Insight at a Glance – Make dashboards true decision-making hubs.

4. Humanized Engagement – Use AI, community features, and personalization to deepen participation.

5. Consistency & Scalability – Create alignment across web and app experiences.

Step 4 – Define Tactical Initiatives with Measurable Outcomes

For each pillar, I identified tactical projects tied to measurable impact.

From Vision to Action: Pillars, Initiatives, and Expected Impact

Pillar	Initiative	Expected Impact Metric
Guided First Steps	Tailored onboarding with “Get Started” hub	↑ First-time task completion
Task Focus & Efficiency	Hide nav during creation; structured left/right editor	↓ Task abandonment
Insight at a Glance	Data-rich dashboards with key metrics & trends	↑ Return visits
Humanized Engagement	AI narration/video previews; voice response	↑ Engagement quality
Humanized Engagement	Community leaderboards & streak rewards	↑ Monthly active users
Consistency & Scalability	Cross-platform design system adoption	↓ UX inconsistencies

Step 5 – Phase the Work to Avoid Overwhelm

Not every initiative could launch at once. I mapped a Now / Next / Future approach:

• Now (0–3 mo): Navigation simplification, onboarding hub, dashboard MVP.

• Next (3–6 mo): Creation flow redesign, AI previews, basic community features.

• Future (6+ mo): AI quality check, advanced personalization, global survey cloning.

The Result

By the time I presented this to leadership, it wasn’t just a “vision deck.” It was a clear bridge from high-level strategy to execution-ready initiatives, each linked to a metric.

The team could see how their day-to-day work fit into the bigger picture. Leadership could see the business impact. And users? They could feel the improvements almost immediately.

Key Takeaway:
A UX vision should inspire, yes — but more importantly, it should direct action.
Because in the end, the best UX vision isn’t about what you want to be.
It’s about how you’ll get there.