Self-education - Using learning matrix to plan and assess your progress

When you are learning something new and you are doing it by yourself, you may want to avoid the usual problems associated with learning, such as losing control and being unable to assess the results. I would like you to consider using learning matrix -- something I designed for myself when I need a really quick start with a new project at work.

In my experience, this approach may be useful when you cannot study full-time and have to do it alongside other activities. Or maybe you are creating a competency matrix or need an assessment tool.

The principle behind this learning matrix is simple. You list all the major areas vertically, and you put levels of qualification horizontally, and what you get is a 2D matrix that describes the area you would like to assess or master. The cells of this matrix contain criteria a learner should meet in order to be able to say, for instance, 'I have level A in functional programming' or 'I have level B in yoga'.

A word of advice. Do not try to make it too big, make sure it is feasible to learn everything you have planned. If you are not sure about some criterion, mark that criterion appropriately, to prevent it from mixing together with the clear ones. If possible, try to make your criteria SMART (simple/specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, time-bound).

The example below is for starting with a project, but you can apply it to an academic subject or learning a skill as well. Please note that criteria add up (which means that you cannot get level B without successfully passing level A).

Area	Level A	Level B	Level C
functional requirements and domain	has general idea of what domain is, what are its major business processes has general understanding of what functional requirements are and what they are not, and knows where to look for additional information	can make correct conclusions about what's going on (can make conscious decisions about what's working according to requirements and what isn't) can perform troubleshooting in most of cases	can make correct conclusions about what's going on without consulting additional sources of documentation can perform troubleshooting within <?> amount of time
tools	knows what tools are in use, knows how to access and configure it has basic understanding of tools workflows	has good understanding of tools functionality, what they can and what they cannot do knows how to apply tools in daily work	has perfect understanding of tools functionality and can consult on it can design innovative solutions and solve problems by designing new ways of using them
environment	knows tools and technologies in use in environment knows how to use those tools in general and has some understanding of how to apply them in this particular case	can work easily with the tools in use in environment for saving time and effort can do troubleshooting of some environment issues	can do troubleshooting of environment issues within <?> amount of time can provide a solution to a given problem and implement it if necessary
process	knows what process is, what phases and criteria it consists of has general understanding of process tools	can use process to achieve work goals	can analyze process issues and implement changes to fix them

Hope this will make your learning process manageable.