Enabled the next generation of cybersecurity training, saved $34.5 million a year in operational costs

Typical setting for a Ranges.io competition, CyberThreat 2023, sponsored by NCSC

Identification of Opportunity

When I joined Ranges.io (formerly Tomahawque) as the first product designer, the platform focused on creating exciting capture-the-flag experiences for players. However, field research and user tests observing players in live events found they spent little time in the actual application. The main users were authors creating event content. Their key issue was needing to fully build and test events themselves, wasting months per event.

Diagrams created of various authoring workflows during research

Definition of Problem

During a task modelling research project to understand the workflow of authors, one of the key issues identified was that they relied on an event editor completely separate from the player view. The impact of this was having to actually to deploy a full instance of an event to understand what a player would see. The inefficient process stifled content production. I identified the editor as a major bottleneck limiting the platform's potential.

The initial form based authoring experience

Iteration to Solution

I led design engineering on an editable layer placed over the player view. This let authors switch between their authoring controls and the experience the player would have instantly. In parallel to this interface focused project we also introduced an extensible trigger system which opened up new progression pathways and external system interactions for authors to create engaging content with. Overall my solution cut average testing time down to just 2 weeks per event.

An early prototype with the editor and preview side by side

The preview mode for the new authoring experience

The editor mode, author only interactions are distinguised with dashed borders

Impact

My improvements drove an 18-month acquisition by SANS Institute, the world's leading cybersecurity training provider. My editor enabled SANS authors to migrate their training content to the platform, saving $34.5M annually in operational costs while accelerating author productivity in the process.