Directed Independent Study

UNF Cyber Team Readiness, Gap Analysis, and Curriculum Proposal

Directed independent study | University of North Florida | Jacksonville, FL

Overview

In this directed independent study, I analyzed how the UNF cyber competition team prepares for competitions, how it operates during them, where the current process breaks down, and what practical changes could improve readiness and performance. Working independently with weekly faculty guidance from Professor J. Scott Kelly, I completed the research, analysis, writing, and final recommendations for the project.

The study produced three completed deliverables: an as-is process analysis, a to-be future-state model with detailed gap analysis and recommendations, and a proposed penetration testing course and curriculum-alignment plan for UNF.

Why This Project Matters

Collegiate cybersecurity competition teams often depend heavily on informal knowledge transfer, a small number of highly prepared members, and limited structured practice time. That makes performance inconsistent and makes it difficult to retain operational knowledge from one season to the next.

I approached those issues as systems and process problems rather than treating them only as individual skill problems. This project focused on how preparation is organized, how readiness is measured, how work is coordinated under pressure, and how knowledge is retained across semesters. Those factors affect both immediate competition performance and the long-term health of the program.

My Role

I independently conducted the study from research design through final written deliverables. This included collecting and interpreting findings, documenting the team's current-state process, building a future-state operating model, and translating those results into a curriculum proposal. Weekly faculty meetings provided review and feedback, but the research and deliverables were my own work.

Project Structure

Deliverable 1: As-Is Process Analysis

The first deliverable documented how the team currently prepares for competitions and how it functions during them. It identified recurring issues in practice frequency, mock-competition exposure, readiness depth, workflow consistency, change tracking, inject handling, and operational coordination under pressure.

Deliverable 2: To-Be Process Analysis and Gap Analysis

The second deliverable translated those findings into a future-state model. It proposed stronger year-round continuity, clearer competition leadership structure, more realistic simulation-based practice, defined readiness checkpoints, stronger documentation discipline, better incident-command-style coordination, and a more deliberate governance model for team operations.

Deliverable 3: Penetration Testing Course Proposal

The final deliverable extended the research into academic curriculum design. It proposed a UNF penetration testing and adversary emulation course, outlined a full course structure and topic schedule, and recommended what should be added or changed in related coursework so that academic preparation better supports real-world defensive workflow and cyber competition readiness.

Key Findings

The research showed that preparation was limited in both frequency and depth. Team-run practice was generally infrequent, full mock competitions were rare, and practice formats were heavily weighted toward guided or independent lab work rather than competition-like simulation. Readiness was often concentrated in a small core rather than distributed across the team.

The study also identified operational weaknesses beyond purely technical skill. These included weak workflow rehearsal, inconsistent documentation and change discipline, limited practice handling injects and reporting, weak continuity across semesters, and recurring coordination and prioritization problems under pressure.

Taken together, the findings suggested that stronger results would require more than additional effort. They would require clearer structure, more deliberate training design, and better knowledge retention across the organization.

Proposed Improvements

The future-state model recommends a more continuous and structured approach to team development.

Key areas of improvement include:

• stronger year-round continuity rather than seasonal reset behavior
• more realistic and more frequent simulation-based practice
• clearer operational roles during competition
• better readiness expectations and checkpoints
• stronger documentation and change-control discipline
• improved handling of injects, prioritization, and coordination under pressure
• leadership selection and accountability based on team operations, not only technical reputation

These recommendations were designed to be practical and to improve how the team trains and operates without relying on unrealistic assumptions such as new funding, new staff, or major institutional expansion.

Technical and Professional Skills Demonstrated

• process analysis and current-state / future-state modeling
• gap analysis and operational design
• survey interpretation and research synthesis
• technical writing for analytical and academic audiences
• curriculum and syllabus design
• cybersecurity competition workflow analysis
• documentation, governance, and readiness planning

Artifacts and Supporting Material

Supporting materials for this project include the full as-is analysis, the to-be process analysis and gap analysis, and the penetration testing course proposal developed from the study findings.

Outcome

This study moved beyond identifying problems. It documented the team's current operating weaknesses, defined a stronger future-state model, and translated those findings into a concrete academic proposal that could improve both cybersecurity education and competition readiness at UNF.

Related Experience

This project connects directly to my work in cybersecurity competitions, process improvement, technical documentation, and systems thinking. It reflects my interest in building environments that are not only technically capable, but also sustainable, organized, and resilient over time.

View UNF Cyber Security Team Experience