Novice
Some competitors are identified, but it’s not clear what was learned or applied from this work.
Competent
A good set of competitors and comparison points have been investigated, looking at design approaches, feature sets. Screenshots are included.
Proficient
User flows and heuristics for other products and services have been considered. It is clear how learnings from this research were applied to the design.
Expert
Benchmarking includes a holistic understanding of the market the product would operate in, with clear ideas for business opportunities and differentiation among peers. Those have also been clearly translated into the design.