UIEtips: The Flexibility of the Four Stages of Competence

Because my son is a professional magician, I’ve picked up a bit of magician’s lore over the years. Amongst the pros, they have a saying: “If you want to learn a new trick, read an old book.” Turns out, there’s a lot of excellent illusions which have been lost for years that, when you bring them back, feel new to today’s audiences.

It’s not too different in our world of design. There’s a lot of long-forgotten “old thinking” which is relevant with today’s thinking. In today’s article, I share an old model that has appeared on my radar over the last few years.

If you hang out with me, you’ve probably heard me say, “Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgments.” Today’s article describes a model that explains how that maxim actually works. The model is called The Four Stages of Competence, and has a myriad of uses in our design work.

Read the article: The Flexibility of the Four Stages of Competence.

What old thinking have you discovered lately? How do these four stages fit into your design work? We’d love to hear your thoughts below.