Protecting Your Company's Data

Hello! This is a scenario-based eLearning course. It was deemed the winner of Tim Slade’s August 2023 Design Challenge. For information on the challenge, click through to the eLearning Designer’s Community below.

I built the course to address a growing threat in the workplace. In the first half of 2023, it has been reported that USB malware attacks have tripled in prevalence.

The course trains users on best practice to avoid USB malware attacks. It covers USB use, virus testing on USBs, and best practice in the event of malware infection.
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Research and Action Mapping

I began the project with the Design Challenge brief. The challenge called for a training solution to help staff avoid USB malware infection. It highlighted use of personal USBs and also situations in which staff exchange data offsite. 

The challenge stipulated learning objectives for the course. The course will allow learners to: 
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• Practice secure, responsible ownership of flash drives
• Recognise signs of malware attacks from flash drives
• Respond defensively to malware attack attempts

The objectives inspired three key scenarios to base the project around. Subject matter research confirmed the importance of these scenarios in modelling real-life situations. The three scenarios are:
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• USB use
• USB malware detection and testing
• Responding to USB malware

I created an Action Map to provide focus to the training program. Malware defence is a broad topic and so the Action Map helped a lot. It helped me centre the program content around a central business goal.

Text-Based Storyboard

I used the Action Map to build a Help Guide. The Help Guide lists the actions needed to prevent malware attacks from USBs. It lies at the heart of the program and contains the key take-away information.

The Scenarios were built around the Help Guide in order to promote higher-order thinking. Users take the knowledge in the Help Guide and apply it in a real-world situation.

To model a data exchange interaction, I built the story around three characters: the user, a colleague, and a client they meet offsite. To encourage the user to take responsibility, the colleague character was created to be disorganised.

To bring realism to the course, the scenario features concerns that extend beyond USB malware infection. The client is stretched for time, and so time considerations must be factored in to every user decision.

The course models a breadth of situations. In the first question, the user must avoid giving the client a virus. In the second question, the user runs the risk of getting an infection from the client.

Below is an excerpt from the storyboard.

Visual Mock-Ups

The mock-ups use a style guide provided by the challenge. The guide provides a color scheme and font collection to match the branding of the mock company, Cyberco.

See below a sample of visuals from the course. All visuals were created on Figma, using either original content or vector imagery. Adobe Illustrator was used to create the spotlight image.

Sound and Video Production

For a more engaging delivery, the story draws on visual and audio elements. Video-based computer interactions were embedded into the course.

To produce these videos, I used the screen record function on QuickTime. For the content sampled above, I overlayed one video over another with the help of a green screen. This was carried out on Adobe After Effects.
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To add more production value, I incorporated sound cues. Many of the cues have a dark and sinister edge, to create atmosphere for the program. To mix and edit files, I used Audacity.

Full Development in Storyline 360 / JavaScript Certificate

The elements were combined in Articulate Storyline. Animations were added to create smooth transitions between slides. 

At the end of the scenario, two bonus slides provide additional information. Beyond the scenario-based questions, these were used to respectively reinforce (a) the importance of malware protection and (b) the second learning goal, "Recognise signs of malware attacks from flash drives". The slides use icon-based click interactions to provide information. Each use 12 layers. The first lets users explore 12 categories of malware. The second warns of 12 common symptoms that affect infected USBs. The information load is heavier and so users are given the opportunity to explore it at their whim.

At the course’s end, the user is able to download a PDF version of the Help Guide. Embedded JavaScript allows for the date and user’s name to be displayed on the PDF, certificate-style.

Below is the Execute JavaScript trigger used to download the certificate. For more information on how I can use JavaScript and xAPI, see my project "Supporting Teachers in the Classroom".