Toolset

Knowledge Matrix

UK (Unknown Known)

Unconscious Competence

You don't know what you know

Self Awareness About Subject: Low
Subject Awareness: High
  • Skill has become second nature
  • Can be performed while doing other tasks
  • Can be demonstrated easily
  • May have difficulty teaching others (as it's automatic)

KK (Known Known)

Conscious Competence

You know what you know

Self Awareness About Subject: High
Subject Awareness: High
  • Can perform the skill reliably
  • Requires concentration and conscious effort
  • Understands how to demonstrate the skill
  • Able to break the skill down into steps

UU (Unknown Unknown)

Unconscious Incompetence

You don't know what you don't know

Self Awareness About Subject: Low
Subject Awareness: Low
  • Unaware of the skill or its importance
  • May deny the usefulness of the skill
  • Must become conscious of their incompetence to progress
  • Might overestimate their abilities

KU (Known Unknown)

Conscious Incompetence

You know what you don't know

Self Awareness About Subject: High
Subject Awareness: Low
  • Aware of the skill and its relevance
  • Recognizes their deficiency in this area
  • Understanding of the fundamentals begins
  • May feel overwhelmed by how much there is to learn
Low
High
Self Awareness About Subject
How aware you are of your knowledge level in this subject
High
Low
Subject Awareness
Actual knowledge and competence in the subject
(Low, Low)
(High, Low)
(Low, High)
(High, High)