Skill map

A skill map is an inventory of what a design team can actually do. People are listed down one side and capabilities across the top: interaction design, visual design, user research, prototyping, writing, facilitation, data analysis, accessibility. Each cell records a level, such as “can do with help”, “does independently”, “can teach others”.

What it is for

It answers two questions that usually go unasked. Where are we exposed? And where does each person want to grow? A team that looks well-covered by job titles often turns out to have a single person who knows how to run a usability test, or nobody who can write a decent error message. Seeing that in a grid is more persuasive than a manager’s hunch.

It also guides hiring and development. A gap that matters to the roadmap becomes a hire or a training budget. A cluster of strength nobody is using becomes a candidate for a new kind of project.

How to run it

Do it as a conversation, not a rating exercise handed down from above. Let people place themselves first and then compare notes. Keep the list of skills short enough to review, perhaps fifteen to twenty.

Common mistake

Using it as a performance tool. The moment people suspect the grid will feed into reviews, they inflate their ratings and the map stops telling the truth. Keep it about team capacity, not individual grades.