📖 Note: this article explains how participants on the platform can navigate their Skills Overview Page.
What is the Skills Overview Page?
The Skills Overview Page is a page that contains your Cyber Skills Cortex [1] and your Performance Triangle [2] (which will be detailed below). The Skills Overview page allows you to (1) view your cumulative skills and performance demonstrated across all the competitions and assessments you have participated in on the platform, and (2) filter your view to see your skills and performance metric progression over time.
How does this differ from the Participant Home Page Cyber Skills Cortex?
The Cyber Skills Cortex on the Skills Overview Page differs slightly from the one on the Participant Home Page. The Cortex diagram on the Participant Home Page shows a current snapshot of all Skill-Proficiency solves that you have demonstrated on your Cortex to date. Aside from tooltips which activate upon hovering over each square, the Cortex on the Participant Home Page is not interactive.
The Cortex on the Skills Overview Page also shows the Skill-Proficiency solves that you have demonstrated to date. However, it is interactive, allowing you to filter your view based on time. Additionally, not only can you view your solves, you can also view your unsuccessful attempts.
How do I get to my Skills Overview Page?
To reach your Skills Overview Page, simply click 'View Skills Overview' [1] on the Participant Home Page.
For more information about the Participant Home Page, as well as an overview of the Cyber Skills Cortex and the FifthDomain Cynaptic Skills Adaptor Framework, click here.
Interacting with your Cyber Skills Cortex
The Cyber Skills Cortex on your Skills Overview Page follows the same logic as the Cyber Skills Cortex on your Participant Home Page. However, as mentioned above, on the Skills Overview Page, you can toggle your view of the Cortex to view your challenge solves (i.e. correct/successful flags) and your unsuccessful challenge attempts (i.e. incorrect/unsuccessful flags).
Toggling between the Solved and Unsolved Cortex Tabs
By default, when you reach the Skills Overview Page, your Cortex will be in the Solved [1] tab view. To view your unsuccessful challenge attempts, click the Unsolved [2] tab.
Navigating the Solved Cyber Skills Cortex Tab
Navigating and reading the Cortex while in the Solved tab on the Skills Overview Page is the same as it is on the Participant Home Page. For more information on how to read your Cyber Skills Cortex, click here (relevant information will be from the 'Navigating your Skills Snapshot' article heading).
Navigating the Unsolved Cyber Skills Cortex Tab
Clicking the Unsolved tab will update your Cyber Skills Cortex to display all Skill-Proficiency squares where you have unique unsuccessful challenge attempts. In other words, every challenge you unsuccessfully attempt (and do not end up solving) will appear in the Unsolved view of your Cortex (in the relevant Skill-Proficiency square).
Compared to your Solved tab view, which marks solved challenges as blue on your Cyber Skills Cortex, unsolved challenges are reflected in the Unsolved tab in red.
An example Cyber Skills Cortex Unsolved view is below:
Understanding Blank vs Filled Unsolved Skill-Proficiency Squares
All Skill-Proficiency squares that you do not have relevant unsolved challenges in will be blank in your Unsolved view.
If a challenge has been unsolved in an assessment or competition, the Skill-Proficiency square relevant to that challenge will be filled in with a number and colour shade.
The number in a Skill-Proficiency square shows how many unique challenges (mapped to that specific Skill-Proficiency square) you have left unsolved.
For instance, if you have attempted but not solved 6 unique challenges mapped to the Log Analysis (LA) Skill at the Level 1 (Novice) proficiency level, your Skill-Proficiency square for Level 1 (Novice) Log Analysis (LA) will contain the number 6 inside it.
The intensity of the red colour in an Unsolved view Skill-Proficiency square is also determined by the number of relevant challenges left unsolved. The darker the colour of a square, the more unique challenges relevant to that square you have left unsolved. Each time a challenge is left unsolved, its relevant Skill-Proficiency square will darken by one shade.
Note that each individual challenge will only be counted in the Unsolved tab once. No matter how many times you unsuccessfully attempt a challenge within a competition, it will be counted as one unsolved challenge in your Cyber Skills Cortex. Additionally, if you leave the same challenge unsolved across different competitions and/or assessments, your Cyber Skills Cortex will still mark the challenge as a single unsolved challenge.
📖 Note: When you successfully solve a challenge that was previously unsolved, the challenge will move from your Unsolved tab to your Solved tab. Challenges that you solve successfully on the first try (i.e. there was never an unsuccessful attempt), will populate on your Solved tab immediately.
Activating Tooltips over Unsolved Skill-Proficiency Squares
To view more details about a specific Skill-Proficiency square, simply hover your mouse over it. Upon hover over a square you will be able to see the following details:
Full Skill Name
Proficiency Level
Total Unsolved Challenges
Last Attempt
In the example below, hovering over the square [1] for Geo-Intelligence (GI) at the Level 1 (Novice) level activates a tooltip [2] which spells out the full name of the Skill (i.e. expanding from the acronym "GI"), the proficiency level of the square being viewed, the current total number of unsolved challenges for Level 1 Geo-Intelligence challenges, and the date, month, and year of the most recent unsuccessful attempt.
Understanding Links between Proficiency Levels for a Skill
It is important to note that attempting a Skill at a higher proficiency level is considered in the logic of the Cortex diagram to also contribute to attempts of the same Skill at lower proficiency levels.
Therefore, note that attempting a challenge at a proficiency level higher than Level 1 (Novice) will also contribute to increased number and colour shade intensity of relevant mapped Skills at lower proficiency levels.
For instance, attempting a Level 3 (Competent) Intrusion Detection (ID) challenge will lead to the Level 3 (Competent) Intrusion Detection (ID) Skill-Proficiency square deepening by a shade, and the number within the square increasing by one. Attempting this challenge will also cause the Level 1 (Novice) and Level 2 (Advanced Beginner) Intrusion Detection (ID) Skill-Proficiency squares to also deepen and have their numbers increase.
Due to this logic, Skill-Proficiency squares will always be visually displayed as darker from the central spine of the Cortex, to lighter towards the left and right sides.
Understanding your Most Attempted Specialty and Most Attempted Skills
Next to your Cyber Skills Cortex diagram, on the Unsolved tab, you will be able to view your Most Attempted Professional Specialty [1], and your Most Attempted Skills [2].
Your Most Attempted Professional Specialty is calculated using a formula which takes into account the proficiency levels of challenges you have attempted unsuccessfully within a Professional Specialty, as well as the number of unique Skills unsuccessfully attempted within each Professional Specialty.
Your Most Attempted Skills are the Skills in which you have demonstrated the highest number of relevant unsuccessful attempts across the proficiency levels.
How can I use the data in my Unsolved tab within my Cyber Skills Cortex?
The ability to see the challenges you have not solved against the Cynaptic Skills Adaptor Framework may be helpful for the following:
Identifying Skill Gaps: seeing your unsolved challenges highlights areas where you have not yet demonstrated abilities, helping you to identify potential skill gaps and areas that may need improvement and/or additional training.
Targeted Learning and Development: having a clear view of which challenges remain unsolved may help you to focus learning efforts on specific skills and proficiencies, enabling you to develop skills that are most relevant to your goals.
Career Planning and Advancement: understanding which skills are yet to be mastered can inform career planning by helping you to align your learning with desired career paths, or roles which require specific abilities. For career advancement, focusing on unsolved challenges may open up new opportunities or qualify you for more advanced positions.
Enhanced Problem-Solving and Adaptability: tackling unsolved challenges may enhance your problem-solving skills and adaptability, as you learn to apply knowledge and skills in new and unfamiliar contexts.
Organisational Skill Development: if you are part of an organisation, a view of unsolved challenges can be used to assess collective team skill gaps, enabling focus into tailored training programs to build robustly skilled and versatile teams.
Using the Cyber Skills Cortex Time Period Filter
The Time Period Filter section contains a slider that enables you to filter your view of your Cyber Skills Cortex to a specific time period in the past.
The leftmost side [1] of the slider represents Week 1 of October 2023. This is when the FifthDomain Cynaptic Skills Adaptor Framework was released to the platform, and is the earliest week available for you to view your skills demonstrated/attempted.
For more information on the FifthDomain Cynaptic Skills Adaptor Framework, please reference the Participant Home Page article here (relevant information will be from the 'What is the Cynaptic Skills Adaptor Framework?' article subheading).
The rightmost side [2] of the slider represents the current week and year.
The slider has two nodes, allowing you to specify a specific time period with which to view your skills demonstrated/attempted. By default, the slider will have selected all of the available time period for viewing (i.e. your Cortex will show all of your skills demonstrated/attempted across events to date without being filtered). To filter your view, simply click and drag one or both nodes to the desired week.
As you drag the nodes, you will be able to see your Cyber Skills Cortex update to display the cumulation of your solved/unsolved challenges for the selected time duration.
💡 Remember: if you use the Time Period Filter while on the Solved tab, you will be able to see your successful challenge solves accumulated during the selected point(s) in time. If you use the Time Period Filter while on the Unsolved tab, you will be able to see your unsuccessful challenge attempts accumulated during the selected point(s) in time.
Interacting with your Performance Triangle
The Performance Triangle is a diagram which visually maps out your Success, Efficiency, and Speed scores. The Success, Efficiency, and Speed scores you have demonstrated on the platform are each mapped to one of your Performance Triangle's three corners. In the example below, the Performance Triangle shows a Success Score [1] of 20, an Efficiency Score [2] of 60, and a Speed Score [3] of 62.
📖 Note: all the competitions and assessments you have participated in on the platform contribute to your Success, Efficiency, Speed, and FifthDomain Scores on your Skills Overview Page.
You can hover over the "i" icons to receive an explainer of each of these scores, as well as your FifthDomain Score.
You can also read definitions below:
💡 Performance Metric Score Definitions:
FifthDomain Score: Your FifthDomain score (0-100) is a combined weighted sum of your Success, Efficiency, and Speed scores, with Success carrying the highest weightage.
Efficiency Score: Your Efficiency Score (0-100) measures your ability to score points in challenges while minimising the number of attempts made.
Success Score: Your Success Score (0-100) measures your ability to capture flags, taking into account points earned for solved challenges relative to overall points available.
Speed Score: Your Speed Score (0-100) reflects your quickness in completing challenges within the allocated time for an event.
Using the Performance Triangle Time Period Filter
You can use the time period slider above your Performance Triangle to filter your view of your Performance Triangle to a specific time period in the past. Simply drag the slider nodes to the period you wish to view.
