> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://guide.exiqtive.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Readiness concepts
> Key Readiness concepts in exIQtive: readiness levels, badges, awarding vs giving, Inspection Protocols, and checkpoints.
Readiness is the heart of exIQtive. This page explains what readiness means, how it's expressed as a percentage and a badge, and how Coaches inspect and certify it.
## Employee readiness
Readiness is the state where an employee can perform their responsibilities **independently, consistently, and to the required standard**, without supervision and without guesswork. It's not about completing training; it's about whether the employee can actually do the work when it counts.
In practice, readiness covers three things:
1. **Clarity**: the employee knows exactly what's expected
2. **Capability**: they have the skills and knowledge to deliver
3. **Consistency**: they can do it reliably, not just once
## Readiness level
Every employee has a Readiness level for each responsibility they hold, expressed as a percentage from 0% to 150%. The higher the percentage, the more mastery they've demonstrated:
| Zone | Range | Meaning |
| - | - | - |
| **Developing** | 0% to 50% (inclusive) | Still learning, needs support |
| **Competent** | Above 50%, up to and including 100% | Can do the work, with or without supervision depending on badge level |
| **Expert** | Above 100% | Can coach others or define the standard for the work |
These zones reflect meaningfully different levels of contribution to your organization. See [How readiness is calculated](/user-guide/readiness/how-readiness-is-calculated) for how individual responsibility levels roll up into an overall score.
## Readiness badge
A Readiness Badge is the formal certification that an employee is ready to perform a specific responsibility at a defined level. A Coach (or an Architect acting as one) issues it after an inspection. It's the evidence that readiness is real, not assumed.
There are five badge levels, each at a specific point on the Readiness scale:
| Badge | Readiness | What it means |
| - | - | - |
| Novice | 0% | No badge yet: the employee hasn't been certified for this responsibility |
| Apprentice | 50% | Can perform the responsibility, but still needs supervision |
| Proficient | 100% | Can perform independently and consistently: the standard expectation |
| Coach | 125% | Can inspect and certify others on this responsibility |
| Architect | 150% | Can define the standard, create the knowledge base, and train Coaches |
Each employee holds one badge per responsibility at a time. Earning a higher badge replaces the previous one, and your Readiness level updates immediately.
Only a **Current** badge contributes its Readiness percentage to your score. An **Expired** or **Removed** badge counts as 0% (Novice). See [The badge ladder](/user-guide/readiness/badge-ladder) for the full explanation of badge statuses.
## Awarding vs giving a badge
A badge can be issued in two ways, depending on whether the responsibility has active checkpoints:
* **Awarding**: the Coach uses the Inspection Protocol to formally inspect the employee, checkpoint by checkpoint. This is the preferred approach: objective, repeatable, and fair.
* **Giving**: the badge is issued directly, based on experience and judgment. This is only available when the responsibility has no active checkpoints. Once a responsibility has at least one active checkpoint, badges can only be awarded through inspection.
## Inspection Protocol
An Inspection Protocol is the structured set of criteria a Coach uses to evaluate whether an employee is ready to perform a responsibility. It breaks the responsibility into observable actions, knowledge requirements, and behavioral standards, making the assessment objective rather than a matter of opinion.
The Inspection Protocol is a collection of checkpoints. The Architect for the responsibility creates and maintains it; keeping it current is one of the Architect's core duties.
## Inspection checkpoint
A checkpoint is one item in an Inspection Protocol. Each checkpoint targets a specific readiness level and comes with clear criteria and instructions for evaluating it.
During an inspection, a Coach marks each checkpoint as **Passed**, **Failed**, or **Not Applicable (N/A)**. N/A checkpoints are treated as satisfied; they don't block a badge when the criterion genuinely doesn't apply.
Checkpoints can also include short videos and quizzes as microlearning, so employees have what they need to prepare before requesting an inspection.
## Common questions
Your Readiness level is a percentage that reflects how well you've demonstrated competence. A badge is the certification for one specific responsibility at one specific level. Badges drive the percentage: earning a new badge for a responsibility immediately updates your Readiness for that responsibility.
Doing your job well (Proficient, 100%) is different from being able to train others to do it (Coach, 125%) or defining how it should be done across the organization (Architect, 150%). The extra range recognizes and rewards the employees who multiply your organization's capability, not just their own.
Awarding is the formal path: the Coach works through the Inspection Protocol checkpoint by checkpoint. Giving is the fallback when the responsibility has no active checkpoints and relies on judgment. Both result in a badge, but awarding is preferred because it produces a consistent, auditable result that doesn't depend on any one Coach's style.
The Architect for the responsibility. Creating and maintaining the Inspection Protocol, along with the videos, knowledge articles, and quizzes that support it, is one of an Architect's core duties. IQ, exIQtive's AI assistant, can suggest checkpoints to help the Architect build and refine the protocol. Without active checkpoints, badges can only be given, not awarded.
Yes. If a checkpoint genuinely doesn't apply to the employee or situation, the Coach can mark it Not Applicable. N/A checkpoints are treated as satisfied and don't prevent the employee from earning the badge.
## Related
Badge levels and statuses in detail.
How responsibility levels roll up into a score.
How Coaches run an inspection.
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