> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dacard.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Read your maturity report

> How to read your scoring report and turn it into the next move.

<Note>
  Six sections to your report: composite, dimension breakdown, signal bars, strengths and gaps, cross-dimension patterns, next-move recommendations. The biggest leverage usually sits in raising a 1 to a 2, not a 3 to a 4.
</Note>

# Read your maturity report

As an IC, you want to read your report and walk away with the next move. This page tells you how.

## Report anatomy

After scoring, your maturity report carries six sections.

### Composite and stage

The top of the report shows your composite (27-135) and stage. This is your headline.

| Stage           | Range   | Read                                                           |
| --------------- | ------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Foundation**  | 27-48   | Capability is basic or absent. Start with the fundamentals.    |
| **Building**    | 49-70   | Practice exists but lands unevenly. Focus on repeatability.    |
| **Scaling**     | 71-91   | Systematic process in place. Optimize and measure outcomes.    |
| **Leading**     | 92-113  | Deep integration across functions. Extend and defend the lead. |
| **Compounding** | 114-135 | Self-improving systems. Maintain the flywheel.                 |

### Dimension breakdown

All 27 dimensions are listed with their score (1-5), the evidence we found, and our confidence (high, medium, low). Dimensions are grouped by function:

* **Strategy** (4): market intelligence, decision quality, roadmap discipline, competitive positioning
* **Design** (4): research and discovery, prototyping speed, experience design, design-dev handoff
* **Development** (4): architecture and systems, spec and context quality, build vs buy, delivery velocity
* **Operations** (4): customer signal synthesis, product analytics, data flywheel, feedback loop quality
* **GTM** (4): positioning and messaging, launch execution, adoption and expansion, pricing and packaging
* **Intelligence** (4): quality and experimentation, team orchestration, process iteration, cost and token economics

### Signal bars

Each dimension has a signal bar in traffic-light colors for at-a-glance reading.

* **Green (3-4):** strong. Maintain and extend.
* **Amber (2):** developing. A targeted move pays off.
* **Red (1):** gap. This is capping your composite.

### Strengths and gaps

Your report surfaces the top 3 and bottom 3 dimensions. This is the most actionable section. Your gaps carry the highest leverage because moving a 1 to a 2 has more impact than moving a 3 to a 4.

### Cross-dimension patterns

We surface systemic themes that span multiple dimensions. If customer signal synthesis, product analytics, and feedback loop quality all score low, the pattern might be "weak data feedback loops" rather than three separate problems.

### Next-move recommendations

Each dimension carries a recommendation calibrated to your current score. A dimension at 1 gets a Foundation-appropriate move ("establish a basic analytics stack"). A dimension at 3 gets a Scaling-appropriate move ("automate anomaly detection in your analytics pipeline").

## How to read by function

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="If you're a PM">
    Lean on **Strategy** and **Operations** first. Your primary levers are market intelligence, decision quality, customer signal synthesis, and product analytics. These dimensions read how well your team understands users and makes evidence-based calls.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="If you're an engineer">
    Lean on **Development** and **Intelligence**. Architecture and systems, delivery velocity, and cost and token economics are your core dimensions. A high architecture score with low delivery velocity means you have the foundation but can't capitalize on it fast enough.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="If you're a designer">
    Lean on **Design**. Research and discovery, prototyping speed, experience design, and design-dev handoff show how effectively your design process turns insight into shipped product. Low design-dev handoff often signals a systemic collaboration problem.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Confidence levels

Each dimension score carries our confidence.

* **High:** multiple strong signals observed. Score is reliable.
* **Medium:** some signal found, evidence is limited. Connect adapters for tighter accuracy.
* **Low:** minimal signal. Score is directional but may not fully reflect your capability. Connect adapters or re-score a richer surface.

<Tip>
  Low confidence doesn't mean a low score. It means we had limited evidence. Connecting adapters (GitHub, Linear, PostHog) adds ground-truth operational data and lifts confidence fast.
</Tip>

## What's next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Coach with DAC" icon="message-bot" href="/knowledge-base/ic-coaching">
    Ask DAC to explain your biggest gaps and build an improvement plan.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Map your lifecycle" icon="arrows-spin" href="/knowledge-base/ic-lifecycle-checklist">
    Complement your maturity score with a lifecycle assessment.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Share with your leader" icon="share" href="/knowledge-base/founder-share">
    Every score has a shareable URL. Send it to stakeholders without making them sign in.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Connect adapters" icon="plug" href="/knowledge-base/integrations">
    Tighten scoring accuracy by wiring up GitHub, Linear, and others.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>