Future Evolution of Level 5

Dear fellow judges, after digesting MagicCon Amsterdam and coming back to “normal” life, here we are again to share with you some important news, this time mostly about the L5.

Announcements

First things first, as you probably know, the Transition Period concluded on June 30th. We received plenty of automatic or accelerated last-minute requests for L4 and 5 and still have a few to manage, which means we’ll likely have a few additional level ups in the near future, once data get confirmed and pending items get finished (if you’re one of these and weren’t contacted yet, please reach out to us!).

Secondly, after a few months in the role, including the difficult task of shaping our L5 definition from scratch (including the transition period “special” paths), Jonah Kellman has decided to step down from his role as the IJP L5 Testing Manager. Despite not being able to be part of the IJP, he accepted the role and the responsibility when we most needed him, and has been supporting us since then. He helped us to find a replacement and facilitated the transition. A great example of commitment and professionalism. Thank you Jonah for all your help!

Last, but not least, and the reason why I’m the one writing these lines for you today, Sergio Pérez (me) will take the role as L5 Testing Manager from now on.

With more than 12 years of experience as “old L3” and 8 as “GP HJ”, I already had ideas about the “L5” before founding the IJP. As one of the current Program Leads, I dedicated my time to other areas and wasn’t very involved in the Levels definition beyond doing a few “consistency checks” after they were crafted. I’ll remain active in these (and other) areas as a Program Lead until the end of the year, but it was never my intention to apply for the PL “reelection” process so when I was told Jonah was leaving and I was offered to cover the position I knew I had to accept 🙂

The Future L5: Philosophy

My personal opinion is that L5 needs to evolve.

First of all, the main reason why I consider our L5 needs to evolve is because I think it’s too close to our L4 and, therefore, it lacks its own “identity”. While you can explain the core meaning of our current levels 1 to 4 on their own, the L5 is “a quite active L4” with a harder panel. Current numbers reveal that we have more L5s than L4s, and even if this might change in the future, I think it’s already a symptom to start working on improving the system in the near future.

On top of it, I had the opportunity to talk with many of you at PT Seattle and the amazing MagicCon Amsterdam (the biggest MagicCon so far!) and this was a recurring topic, which means general perception is also aligned on it.

With this in mind, there could be, in my opinion, two options on the table: 

  1. Remove the L5 and merge it with the L4 in some way.
  2. Redefine the L5 to actually represent the “peak of the pyramid” in terms of quality (and, as a consequence, quantity)

I had a conversation with Alfonso (as L4 Testing Manager and also PL responsible for the Levels structure) at MagicCon Amsterdam about this, since I told him I’d want to make changes in the L5 if I took over the role. We agree option 2 is more aligned with the IJP philosophy focus on quality and a long term sustainable Judge Program, having aspirational role models and always aiming for continuous improvement is good. We also agree it will be quite a challenge to define the new L5 and its processes, but that hasn’t stopped us in the past from trying new things. Since there is motivation and a reason for it, it won’t stop us this time either 🙂

Therefore, starting in January 2025 our L5 will evolve. A new L5 philosophy, definition and process will be published by the end of September ‘24 (so judges can start planning 2025 with this in mind if they want), and will be fully operational on January 1st, 2025. The year 2025 will be a transition year for the level and then, all L5s will have to pass the new L5 maintenance at the beginning of 2026 (as announced in September ‘24)

With this change, I foresee an improvement in both L4 and L5 quality, which should also increase the confidence and trust of international TOs in our certification system.

I have a solid idea in mind and motivation to surf the waves in the process. Still, there’s plenty of work to do and many details and processes to polish in the upcoming weeks. Therefore, if you have feedback or ideas you’d like to share regarding this change of philosophy that could help define the new L5, feel free to reach out to me via email or via PM in any of our common Social Media.

See you soon with more news!

Sergio

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