Quality Assurance Track

Quality Assurance

Refuses to ship defects. Owns test strategy, defect lifecycle, and release sign-off. Prevention starts at requirements; detection ends at sign-off.

3levels · 8competencies · Total weight 12.5 · Hire bar QA2

The 3 QA levels

QA1

Junior

Executes test cases. Learns test design and defect discipline.

1.5 – 2.4

QA2

Middle

Sole QA on a sub-team. Owns suite, defects, reports, one layer of automation.

2.5 – 3.7

QA3

Senior · 2 sub-tracks

Lead QA. Analyst (manual + prevention) or SDET (automation framework owner).

3.8 – 5.0

Competency matrix — at a glance

Competency

QA1

QA2

QA3

Test Design & Coverage

×2

Test Execution & Defect Discipline

×2

Carefulness & Quality Rigor

×1.5

Reporting & Quality Metrics

×1.5

Test Automation & Tooling

×1.5

AI-Assisted QA

×1.5

Domain & Product Understanding

×1

Communication & Cross-team

×1.5

1 Aware2 Developing3 Proficient · hire bar4 Senior5 Expert

Competency deep-dive

Test Design & Coverage

Weight ×2

L3 · hire bar

Aware

Fresh QA (0–1 year).

"I run the tests someone else wrote."

Developing

QA with 1–3 years.

"I can write test cases from a clear spec."

ProficientHIRE BAR

Independent sub-team QA.

"I design the test suite end-to-end. Edge and exception flows are not afterthoughts."

Senior

Senior QA, project lead.

"I run the test strategy across the whole project."

Expert

ODC test design lead.

"I set the test design standard for the ODC."

Measurement matrix 3-of-5 majority

Dimension

L1 · Aware

L2 · Familiar

L3 · Proficient

L4 · Advanced

L5 · Expert

Test planning

L1: Runs tests others wrote

L2: Writes cases from clear spec

L3: Designs suite end-to-end

L4: Runs strategy across project

L5: Sets ODC test design standard

Coverage thinking

L1: Executes happy-path scripts

L2: Covers spec'd scenarios

L3: Edge and exception flows included

L4: Risk-weighted coverage across modules

L5: Coverage model reused across ODC

Technique application

L1: Follows steps in test cases

L2: Applies boundary and equivalence

L3: Selects techniques per risk

L4: Mixes exploratory, scripted, model-based

L5: Codifies technique playbook

Requirements analysis

L1: Reads tickets as given

L2: Asks BA for clarification

L3: Spots gaps in spec early

L4: Shapes acceptance criteria with BA

L5: Defines testability standard upstream

Strategy scope

L1: Single feature scope

L2: Own sub-area

L3: Sub-team test plan

L4: Whole-project test strategy

L5: Multi-project / ODC strategy

Anti-signal · auto-disqualifies the level

Rejects

L1: Only runs scripts, never questions them

L2: Tests only what spec literally says

L3: Forgets negative and edge paths under deadline

L4: Strategy on paper but team not following

L5: Sets standards no one adopts

Scoring rule: You are at Level N if you hit Level N in at least 3 of 5 dimensions, AND no dimension is below Level (N−1). Sort levels descending — 3th value is your overall level. If the lowest drops more than 1 below, demote 1 level.

Measurement matrix 3-of-5 majority

Dimension

L1 · Aware

L2 · Familiar

L3 · Proficient

L4 · Advanced

L5 · Expert

Reproducibility

L1: Reports what symptom appears

L2: Clean steps to reproduce

L3: Isolates root cause area

L4: Coaches team on repro discipline

L5: Defines repro standard ODC-wide

Defect quality

L1: Logs basic defect with help

L2: Logs reproducible defects independently

L3: Severity, evidence, env all clean

L4: Reviews and uplifts team's defects

L5: Sets defect quality bar

Lifecycle ownership

L1: Hands off after logging

L2: Tracks own defects to closure

L3: No defect drifts without owner

L4: Drives triage cadence

L5: Lifecycle policy across projects

Triage & prioritization

L1: Defers to lead on priority

L2: Proposes severity with rationale

L3: Negotiates priority with dev

L4: Runs triage, defects move fast

L5: Sets triage governance

Throughput discipline

L1: Backlog of stale tickets

L2: Closes own loop weekly

L3: Zero aging defects on own area

L4: Project-wide aging dashboard

L5: Org-wide flow metrics standard

Anti-signal · auto-disqualifies the level

Rejects

L1: Logs vague 'doesn't work' tickets

L2: Reproduces but doesn't own to close

L3: Lets P3/P4 defects rot in backlog

L4: Triage becomes a status meeting

L5: Policy ignored by working teams

Measurement matrix 3-of-5 majority

Dimension

L1 · Aware

L2 · Familiar

L3 · Proficient

L4 · Advanced

L5 · Expert

Self-verification

L1: Follows the checklist

L2: Double-checks own work

L3: Never marks Pass unverified

L4: Verifies team's risky claims

L5: Sets self-check standard

Attention to detail

L1: Surface-level pass/fail

L2: Spots obvious mismatches

L3: Catches subtle UI/data issues

L4: Sees issues others miss

L5: Trains attention as a skill

Leakage prevention

L1: Frequent escapes from own area

L2: Owns escapes, learns from them

L3: Low-leakage track record

L4: Zero-leakage target on project

L5: Department zero-leakage culture

Regression mindset

L1: Tests only the new feature

L2: Re-runs flagged regression list

L3: Reasons about impact zones

L4: Curates living regression suite

L5: Regression strategy standard

Quality hygiene

L1: Skips evidence sometimes

L2: Attaches screenshots, logs

L3: Audit-ready test artifacts

L4: Enforces hygiene on team

L5: Hygiene bar across ODC

Anti-signal · auto-disqualifies the level

Rejects

L1: Marks Pass without re-checking

L2: 'Works on my machine' thinking

L3: Skips one more check under deadline

L4: Tolerates leakage as inevitable

L5: Carefulness becomes paperwork theater

Measurement matrix 3-of-5 majority

Dimension

L1 · Aware

L2 · Familiar

L3 · Proficient

L4 · Advanced

L5 · Expert

Daily reporting

L1: Fills daily template

L2: Adds context and blockers

L3: Daily signal PM can act on

L4: Designs daily quality view

L5: Daily reporting standard

Sprint reporting

L1: Reports tasks done

L2: Writes sprint test report

L3: Reports project quality truth

L4: Sprint quality story for client

L5: Department sprint report template

Metrics & evidence

L1: Reports counts only

L2: Pass/fail, defect counts

L3: Trends, risk, coverage signals

L4: Designs metrics that drive action

L5: Metric standard across projects

Audience tailoring

L1: Same report for everyone

L2: Adjusts tone for lead

L3: PM and client variants

L4: Exec-ready quality narrative

L5: Reporting playbook by audience

Quality visibility design

L1: No dashboard ownership

L2: Maintains existing dashboard

L3: Reports surface real risk

L4: Designs how quality is seen

L5: Visibility framework for department

Anti-signal · auto-disqualifies the level

Rejects

L1: Template filled with no real signal

L2: Reports activity, not quality

L3: Hides bad news in report

L4: Dashboards no one reads

L5: Reporting standard nobody follows

Measurement matrix 3-of-5 majority

Dimension

L1 · Aware

L2 · Familiar

L3 · Proficient

L4 · Advanced

L5 · Expert

Running automation

L1: Runs existing automation, reads reports

L2: Triggers suites on branches

L3: Owns suite stability at one layer

L4: Orchestrates suites across layers

L5: Multi-project pipeline architect

Test authoring

L1: Reads automation code

L2: Adds new tests to framework

L3: Writes maintainable test code

L4: Reviews and refactors team code

L5: Coding standards for automation

Framework ownership

L1: No framework ownership

L2: Extends existing patterns

L3: Owns one layer (UI/API)

L4: Owns framework UI+API+perf

L5: Framework architecture across projects

Suite reliability

L1: Reports flakes to lead

L2: Fixes assigned flaky tests

L3: Keeps own suite green

L4: Drives flakiness toward zero

L5: Reliability SLOs across ODC

CI / pipeline integration

L1: Aware tests run in CI

L2: Triggers and reads pipeline

L3: Wires new tests into CI gates

L4: Designs CI gating strategy

L5: Sets pipeline standard org-wide

Anti-signal · auto-disqualifies the level

Rejects

L1: Treats automation as black box

L2: Copy-pastes patterns without understanding

L3: Green suite that doesn't catch bugs

L4: Framework so complex only owner can use it

L5: Standard ignores project realities

Measurement matrix 3-of-5 majority

Dimension

L1 · Aware

L2 · Familiar

L3 · Proficient

L4 · Advanced

L5 · Expert

AI tool usage

L1: Occasionally asks ChatGPT

L2: Generates cases and checklists

L3: AI in normal workflow

L4: Designs AI workflows for team

L5: Sets AI-QA stack for department

Output verification

L1: Sometimes trusts AI output

L2: Spot-checks AI suggestions

L3: Verifies every output

L4: Coaches team on verification

L5: Verification standard ODC-wide

Prompting skill

L1: Single-line prompts

L2: Reuses prompt patterns

L3: Crafts prompts with context

L4: Maintains prompt library

L5: Prompt engineering standard

Workflow integration

L1: Side tool, ad hoc

L2: Used for one task type

L3: Integrated across daily work

L4: Team workflows with AI built in

L5: AI-QA stack adopted department-wide

AI risk awareness

L1: Unaware of hallucination risk

L2: Knows AI can be wrong

L3: Flags risky outputs explicitly

L4: Sets guardrails for team

L5: AI risk policy for QA org

Anti-signal · auto-disqualifies the level

Rejects

L1: Copies AI output into tickets

L2: Uses AI for cases, skips verification

L3: AI dependence dulls own thinking

L4: Mandates AI tools team doesn't trust

L5: Stack chosen by hype, not fit

Measurement matrix 3-of-5 majority

Dimension

L1 · Aware

L2 · Familiar

L3 · Proficient

L4 · Advanced

L5 · Expert

Domain vocabulary

L1: Recognizes product names, features

L2: Uses domain terms correctly

L3: Fluent in business language

L4: Translates domain for tech team

L5: Authoritative domain voice

Workflow understanding

L1: Sees screens, not workflows

L2: Tests the main paths

L3: Knows real-world misuse patterns

L4: Maps cross-system flows

L5: End-to-end domain model owned

Domain risk insight

L1: No view of business risk

L2: Catches obvious domain bugs

L3: Designs for real-world misuse

L4: Advises dev/BA on domain risks

L5: Domain risk framework for ODC

Cross-function advising

L1: Asks BA for everything

L2: Discusses cases with BA

L3: Challenges spec from domain view

L4: Trusted domain advisor

L5: Co-pitches domain in presales

Domain learning

L1: Learns when assigned

L2: Reads spec and helpdesk

L3: Studies competitors and regs

L4: Mentors team on domain

L5: Builds domain curriculum

Anti-signal · auto-disqualifies the level

Rejects

L1: Tests UI without knowing what it does

L2: Only tests the literal spec

L3: Domain knowledge stays in head

L4: Advises but team won't listen

L5: Presales claims outrun reality

Measurement matrix 3-of-5 majority

Dimension

L1 · Aware

L2 · Familiar

L3 · Proficient

L4 · Advanced

L5 · Expert

Written clarity

L1: Writes what I see, simply

L2: Clear defects and status notes

L3: Concise, evidence-backed writing

L4: Writing that drives decisions

L5: Sets written standard for QA

Verbal communication

L1: Speaks up in own standup

L2: Explains issues to dev clearly

L3: Runs daily/sprint reviews

L4: Represents Techvify quality posture

L5: Opens exec-level quality dialogue

Severity & priority negotiation

L1: Accepts dev's call

L2: States rationale for severity

L3: Negotiates with evidence

L4: Resolves cross-team disputes

L5: Negotiation playbook for QA

Stakeholder trust

L1: Internal team only

L2: Trusted by own squad

L3: Trusted by PM, client QA

L4: Trusted by client leadership

L5: Trusted at executive level

Influence beyond role

L1: Executes assigned tasks

L2: Suggests improvements to lead

L3: Influences sprint quality calls

L4: Shapes project quality direction

L5: Shapes department quality strategy

Anti-signal · auto-disqualifies the level

Rejects

L1: Silent in meetings, vague in writing

L2: Reports issues without evidence

L3: Wins arguments but loses trust

L4: Becomes client's mouthpiece, not Techvify's voice

L5: Influence dependent on title, not credibility

Test Execution & Defect Discipline

Weight ×2

L3 · hire bar

Aware

Fresh QA.

"I run tests and report what I see."

Developing

1–3 year QA.

"I log clean, reproducible defects."

ProficientHIRE BAR

Sub-team QA.

"I own the defect lifecycle. No defect drifts without an owner."

Senior

Senior QA.

"I drive triage. Defects move fast and cleanly."

Expert

ODC defect lifecycle standard-setter.

"I set the defect lifecycle standard for the ODC."

Carefulness & Quality Rigor

Weight ×1.5

L3 · hire bar

Aware

Fresh QA.

"I follow the checklist."

Developing

1–3 year QA.

"I double-check my own work."

ProficientHIRE BAR

Sub-team QA.

"I never mark Pass on something I haven't verified. Always one more check."

Senior

Senior QA — project bar-keeper.

"I catch the issues no one else thinks to test. Zero leakage is the goal."

Expert

ODC QA bar-keeper.

"I set the carefulness standard for the department."

Reporting & Quality Metrics

Weight ×1.5

L3 · hire bar

Aware

Fresh QA.

"I fill the daily template."

Developing

1–3 year QA.

"I write the sprint test report."

ProficientHIRE BAR

Sub-team QA.

"My reports are the project's quality truth — for the PM and the client."

Senior

Senior QA — project quality dashboard owner.

"I design how quality is seen across the project."

Expert

ODC reporting standard-setter.

"I set the reporting standard for the department."

Test Automation & Tooling

Weight ×1.5

L3 · hire bar

Aware

Fresh QA.

"I run existing automation and read the report."

Developing

1–3 year QA.

"I add new tests to the existing framework."

ProficientHIRE BAR

Sub-team QA.

"I own automation at one layer and keep it green."

Senior

Senior QA — automation framework owner.

"I own the automation framework across UI, API, and performance."

Expert

ODC automation architect.

"I architect automation across multiple projects."

AI-Assisted QA

Weight ×1.5

L3 · hire bar

Aware

Fresh QA.

"I sometimes ask ChatGPT for test ideas."

Developing

1–3 year QA.

"I use AI to generate test cases and regression checklists."

ProficientHIRE BAR

Sub-team QA.

"AI is part of my normal workflow — and I verify every output."

Senior

Senior QA — AI workflow designer.

"I design AI workflows for the QA team."

Expert

ODC AI-QA champion.

"I set the AI-QA stack for the department."

Domain & Product Understanding

Weight ×1

L3 · hire bar

Aware

Fresh QA.

"I recognize product names and main features."

Developing

1–3 year QA.

"I understand the workflows; I test the main paths."

ProficientHIRE BAR

Sub-team QA.

"I design tests for real-world misuse, not just the spec."

Senior

Senior QA — domain advisor.

"I advise dev and BA on domain-specific quality risks."

Expert

Recognized SME.

"I co-pitch the domain in presales."

Communication & Cross-team Collaboration

Weight ×1.5

L3 · hire bar

Aware

Fresh QA.

"I write what I see, simply."

Developing

1–3 year QA.

"I write clear defects and status notes."

ProficientHIRE BAR

Sub-team QA.

"I run daily and sprint test reviews. I negotiate severity with evidence."

Senior

Senior QA — trusted by client.

"I'm trusted by client QA and PMs. I represent Techvify's quality posture."

Expert

Trusted advisor.

"I open conversations on quality with executives."

How to advance — promotion criteria

QA1QA2

Typical 18–24 months

What to demonstrate

L3 in Design, Execution, Carefulness, Reporting
L2+ in Automation, AI-QA, Communication
Sole QA on a sub-team for 2+ sprints

Portfolio (CORE)

2 test plans with risk-based coverage
1 release sign-off doc with evidence
Defect log showing severity discipline

Verification path

1Self-assess + supervisor calibration

2Submit portfolio

3Annual review sign-off

QA2QA3

Choose Analyst or SDET sub-track

What to demonstrate

Analyst: L4 in 6/8 + L5 in Carefulness + L4+ in Reporting
SDET: L4 all 8 + L5 in Automation + framework adopted on a project
Owned strategy + sign-off for ≥2 releases

Portfolio (CORE)

Test strategy docs from 2 releases
Sign-off + evidence trail
Automation framework PR (SDET) OR Prevention case study (Analyst)

Verification path

1Declare preferred sub-track

2Multi-reviewer calibration

3ODC Lead + Head of D3 sign-off

Alternative sub-track at QA3

QA3 · Analyst

Manual-heavy, prevention-focused. Strong on requirements-side quality, exploratory testing.

When to consider

Your strength is test design + exploratory + prevention
You read BRDs early and shape testability
You're not driven by automation framework ownership

Automation required

Comp parity

Same band

QA3 · SDET

Automation-heavy. Owns and evolves the test automation framework across UI/API/perf/CI.

When to consider

You love framework design and tooling
You're effective writing code, debugging flakes, building CI
You want to scale quality through automation, not headcount

Automation required

Comp parity

Same band

How to choose / switch sub-tracks

1. Declare during grandfathering window2. 1-on-1 with supervisor3. 1-cycle trial4. Confirm at next quarter

FAQ for QA role

FAQ items will be added as questions surface from the team.

Self-assessment

Self-assess your QA level

Score yourself on each dimension and get a live radar chart of your competency profile. Scores stay in your browser — never saved or shared.