Based on the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition
Select your profile to get a personalized learning roadmap based on Dreyfus levels
CollapseYou're at Level 1 — Novice in most areas. This is normal! Everyone starts here.
Build a strong foundation. Move to Level 2 — Advanced Beginner within your first 6-12 months.
You're likely at Level 2 or Level 3 — competent at daily tasks but stuck in a comfort zone.
Break the plateau! Move to Level 3 — Competent (own outcomes) or Level 4 — Proficient (see the big picture).
You're at Level 4 — Proficient or Level 5 — Expert in technical areas. But you're facing a career crossroads.
Three paths available: Technical Expert (stay deep), People Leader (lead teams), or Quality Strategist (influence org-wide).
You're at Level 2 trying to reach Level 3. You have energy and drive — now you need direction.
Reach Level 3 — Competent in your core areas. Become someone others rely on.
Mixed levels! You might be Level 3 in Communication but Level 1 in Test Design. Your existing skills are assets!
Level up QA-specific skills while leveraging your transferable expertise.
You're Level 3 in manual testing but Level 1 in automation. That's okay — automation is a new skill!
Don't abandon manual skills! Add automation to your toolkit. Become a hybrid QA who knows when to automate.
You need to be a generalist! Being solo is challenging but accelerates growth. You're building multiple competencies simultaneously.
Create maximum impact with limited time. Focus on high-risk areas. Build processes that scale.
You're Level 4 in QA skills but Level 1 in people leadership. Leadership is a new skill to develop!
Shift from doing to enabling. Your job is now to make your team successful.
You're Level 3 in general QA. Now you want to go deep in one area to stand out.
Choose based on what your company needs AND what excites you:
Burnout doesn't mean lack of skill. You might be Level 4 but feeling like Level 1. This is a recovery journey, not a skill journey.
Recover first. Rediscover what you loved about QA. It's okay to slow down.
The Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition was developed in 1980 by brothers Stuart Dreyfus (mathematician) and Hubert Dreyfus (philosopher) at the University of California, Berkeley.
Originally created to study how pilots and chess players develop expertise, the model has since been widely adopted in education, nursing, software development, and professional training across industries.
The Dreyfus Model is ideal for QA competency assessment because:
Characteristics: Relies on rules and checklists. Needs clear instructions. Cannot adapt to context. Makes decisions based on explicit guidelines only.
QA Example: Follows test cases exactly as written. Asks "what should I test?" Cannot prioritize without guidance. Reports bugs but doesn't analyze patterns.
Characteristics: Starts recognizing patterns from experience. Can handle routine situations independently. Still needs help with complex scenarios. Begins to see similarities across tasks.
QA Example: Writes test cases independently for familiar features. Recognizes common bug types. Can identify when something "feels wrong" but may not know why.
Characteristics: Can create plans and set priorities. Takes responsibility for outcomes. Sees work as part of larger goals. Handles complexity but may be slower than experts. Emotionally invested in results.
QA Example: Owns feature quality end-to-end. Creates test strategies based on risk. Identifies gaps in requirements proactively. Drives issues to resolution.
Characteristics: Sees situations holistically, not as fragments. Intuition guides decision-making. Knows what's important without being told. Adapts approach to context. Can mentor others effectively.
QA Example: Immediately spots high-risk areas. Designs test strategies tailored to the project. Mentors junior QA. Influences development practices to improve quality.
Characteristics: Works from intuition, not rules. No longer "thinks" about basics — they're automatic. Sees what others cannot. Innovates and shapes practices. Transcends standard approaches. Others seek their judgment.
QA Example: Predicts where bugs will be before testing. Defines quality standards for the organization. Innovates testing methodologies. Is consulted for critical go/no-go decisions.
The biggest shift happens between Competent (3) and Proficient (4). At Level 3, you consciously analyze situations and apply rules. At Level 4, you start to "see" the right answer intuitively — pattern recognition becomes automatic.
"The expert doesn't solve problems and doesn't make decisions; they do what normally works." — Hubert Dreyfus
The Dreyfus Model is like learning to drive a car:
Think about coding:
Think about hiring interviews:
1. Not all experience is equal
10 years doing the same thing ≠ 10 years of growth. You can be stuck at Level 2 for years without deliberate practice.
2. Different levels need different training
Novices need rules & checklists. Experts need case studies & mentoring opportunities. One-size-fits-all training fails.
3. Intuition is earned, not magic
When experts say "I just know," they're using pattern recognition built from thousands of experiences. It looks like intuition but it's learned.
4. Context matters more at higher levels
Novices apply rules universally. Experts know when to break rules because they understand context deeply.
"The Dreyfus Model describes how people go from beginner to expert in any skill. At first, you need explicit rules and checklists. As you gain experience, you start recognizing patterns. Eventually, you develop intuition — you just 'know' the right answer without consciously thinking. The model has 5 levels: Novice, Advanced Beginner, Competent, Proficient, and Expert. Most people in any profession are at Level 2-3. True experts are rare because reaching Level 4-5 requires years of deliberate practice and varied experiences."
Click on each bucket to explore sub-competencies. Click on sub-competencies to view detailed "I can..." statements for each Dreyfus level.
Core areas of QA expertise
Specific skills to develop
Novice → Expert progression
Clear behavioral indicators