Design Challenges

Design Challenges

Guide challenge sequencing, difficulty progression, and infrastructure planning for a track.

Progress reporting

Do not create your own top-level task list. The invoking command owns the user-facing task list. If this skill represents a single user-visible step in that list, your work maps to one entry. If you need finer-grained progress, update the existing task list rather than starting a new one.

Before Designing

Load relevant guidance using discover-best-practices:

• references/best-practices/components/challenge-structure/ — numbering, ordering, slug naming, difficulty
• references/best-practices/holistic/educational-progression/ — progressive complexity, scaffolding, concept islands
• references/best-practices/holistic/functional-integrity/ — setup-challenge alignment, script-assignment alignment
• references/best-practices/holistic/learner-experience/ — pacing, cognitive load, target audience

Load infrastructure patterns using discover-examples:

• references/infrastructure/ — sandbox architecture options
• references/decision-frameworks/ — trade-off guidance for infrastructure choices

Challenge Sequencing Principles

1. Observation → Guided → Independent arc across the track
2. Each challenge builds on the previous — no concept islands
3. Early challenges introduce vocabulary; later challenges use it
4. Time estimates account for reading + doing + potential mistakes
5. One core concept per challenge, reinforced through action

Infrastructure Awareness

When designing challenges, consider what infrastructure changes each needs:

• Does this challenge need a new service running? → setup script
• Does this challenge need to validate learner work? → check script assertions
• Does this challenge modify state that the next challenge depends on? → solve script ensures correct state
• Does this challenge need cleanup before the next? → cleanup script

Script Planning Per Challenge

For each challenge, define:

• Setup: What environment state must be present before the learner starts
• Check: What specific assertions validate the learner completed the task correctly
• Solve: What commands produce the exact state that passes the check (must be idempotent)
• Cleanup: What state needs resetting (only if needed between challenges)

Time Budgeting

• Short challenges (5-10 min): single concept, 2-4 steps
• Medium challenges (10-20 min): connected concepts, 5-8 steps
• Long challenges (20-30 min): complex multi-step tasks (avoid when possible)
• Total track time: typically 30-90 minutes