How we commonly determine a person’s expertise is through a persona’s past “Experience”. If we make a formula on how you gain experience, it would look something like this:
Experience = practice x time

If we then breakdown “practice”, it’s the added components of Skill 1, Skill 2, Skill 3, etc. As an example:
Experience = (sketching x time) + (CAD x time) + (public speaking x time) + ….

The other component that is needed to determine expertise is to look at our level of knowledge:
Knowledge = study x time

Study is the bits of information that’s relevant to our area of study. And so the knowledge formula would look something like:
Knowledge = (design history x time) + (current trends x time) + (brainstorming methods x time) + ….

Experience and Knowledge are the two distinguishing characteristics to determine the progress of the design-expertise.

The goal is to maximize productivity so that experience and knowledge is gained at the quickest rate possible. We need to keep a few things in mind to do this.

The Only Constant is Time

If I want to be a great designer, then there are few things that we can control: what we practice and what we study. I do not have control over time as it’s an unchangeable constant. Of the things we do have control over, it is essential to create a diverse list of topics to practice and study, and then devote the time necessary to achieve a level of expertise.

Knowledge Fuels Experience. Vice Versa.

Knowledge and experience should not be pursued separately. The information topic studied at the same time as when a topic is being practiced enhances that area of study so that the time is significantly reduced. Reading a sketching book and sketching at the same time, going back and forth creates a supporting role by knowledge and experience of each area. When I’m drawing, sometimes the drawings look off. With knowledge I can consciously and deliberately look at my work and point out why (perspective, proportion, mismatched colors, etc.) and adjust accordingly. Without this knowledge, I may feel that something is wrong, but I won’t have the knowledge to change correctly or will just have to try a few hundred more times until luck takes me to a solution that I can analyze.

Identify the Missing Pieces

Ericsson in the Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance points out that a deliberate practice” is necessary. Deliberate practice is to actively seek out what is missing in our repertoire of skills and information. We then need to incorporate those missing pieces  into our practice and study. This is not necessarily “fun” because they are things that we do not know and does not create comfort.

Including Modifiers to Increase Experience Output

By adding modifiers into the formula we can increase the quality of our experience or knowledge, or reduce the time associated with it. Some examples are below:

Knowledge = (study x time) + mentor/tutor
Knowledge = (study x time) + social
Knoweldge = (study x time) + notebooks + portable ebooks
Experience = (practice x time) + coach
Experience = (practice x time) + motivation

These added modifiers change, manipulate our experience and knowledge. We have to be aware however, that they could be changing it for the worse as well as toward the good.

Becoming an expert in a field requires quite a dedication to time and to the conscious pursuit of practice and study.