Restricted Networks
Confidential Area Access Control | Charter Communications
Designing a secure, permission-based access control feature for sensitive locations within an enterprise GIS platform.
Project Overview
Company: Charter Communications
Platform: Magellan — Enterprise Geographic Information System (GIS)
My Role: UX Researcher · Product Designer · UI Designer
Tools: Figma · WebEx Video Conferencing
Timeline: Fast-tracked delivery
As the designer on this project, I led the design of a new restricted network utility within Charter's enterprise GIS platform, Magellan. The feature was built to give field operations teams the ability to control access to sensitive locations — including government buildings and military bases — within their cable mapping software, ensuring that confidential area data remained visible only to authorized personnel.
Charter's field operations teams work with sensitive location data on a daily basis. The existing version of Magellan had no mechanism to restrict visibility of cable equipment in confidential areas, meaning that any authorized Magellan user could view restricted network data regardless of their clearance level. This created a significant compliance and security risk, particularly in regulated environments where data confidentiality is not optional.
The core problem: How might we design a permission-based access control system that fully conceals restricted network data from unauthorized users without disrupting the workflow of authorized personnel who need seamless access?
To define requirements and shape the feature, I conducted stakeholder interviews with field technicians and business stakeholders who worked directly in and around restricted areas.
Research Goals:
Understand the limitations and risks of the current system
Define business and compliance requirements for restricted data access
Identify how field technicians interact with restricted areas in their daily workflow
Determine what authorized users need to perform their jobs without friction
Key Insights from Stakeholders:
The research revealed three critical design requirements:
Full concealment — Unauthorized users must have zero visibility into restricted networks and associated equipment. Partial concealment was not acceptable.
Seamless access for authorized users — Authorized personnel needed to toggle their restricted view on and off without disrupting their overall workflow in Magellan.
Clear visual signifiers — The interface needed to communicate restricted zone status clearly to authorized users without creating confusion or obstructing general map use.
Key Insight: Security and usability are often treated as competing priorities. This project required designing a solution where both were non-negotiable — the feature had to be airtight from a security perspective while remaining intuitive for the authorized users who depended on it daily.
Design Process
The Problem
Research & Discovery
Defining the Selection Model One of the most complex design challenges was determining how authorized users would select and manage restricted areas on the map. I explored three interaction models before landing on the final approach:
Multi-Select — for managing multiple equipment items simultaneously
Lasso Selection — for flexible, area-based selections across the map
Boundary Selection — for defined, precise area management
Each model was evaluated against the needs of field technicians working in fast-paced, high-stakes environments. The final design incorporated all three, giving users the flexibility to work the way the situation required.
Toggle Design I designed a seamless toggle control that allowed authorized users to activate and deactivate their restricted view without leaving their current workflow. The toggle was paired with distinct on-screen signifiers — iconography and visual indicators — that clearly communicated restricted zone status at a glance.
Wireframing & Iteration Wireframes were developed to test layout options for the restricted network utility within Magellan's existing interface. Multiple rounds of iteration focused on icon clarity, placement, and the usability of the selection modes for both authorized and unauthorized user states.
Key Design Decisions:
Designed a hard concealment state for unauthorized users — restricted networks are fully invisible, not just locked
Created a permission-aware toggle that surfaces only for users with the appropriate clearance level
Used distinct iconography and restricted zone indicators to support authorized users without cluttering the map interface
Solution
I designed a restricted network utility within Magellan that gave Charter's field operations team full control over confidential area access. The feature included:
A permission-based toggle to activate and deactivate restricted view for authorized users
Complete concealment of restricted networks and cable equipment from unauthorized users
Three flexible selection modes — Multi-Select, Lasso, and Boundary — for managing restricted areas
Clear on-screen signifiers to communicate restricted zone status without obstructing general workflow
A new restricted access management utility within the Magellan platform
Impact & Outcomes
Security: Charter's first foray into restricted data access control within Magellan — delivering a feature that met compliance requirements for sensitive location data
Usability: Authorized users gained a flexible, intuitive tool for managing restricted area visibility without workflow disruption
Delivery: The feature was designed and handed off to development within a fast-tracked project timeline, demonstrating the ability to prioritize and execute under pressure
Restricted networks --user without permission
Restricted features multiselect function.
Reflection
This project was one of the most technically and strategically complex I have worked on. Designing for two distinct user states, authorized and unauthorized, required a level of understanding and attention to edge cases that pushed my thinking as a designer.
Given additional time, I would have invested in deeper user research with field technicians who work directly in restricted zones to better understand their day to day interactions with sensitive areas. That qualitative insight would have strengthened the toggle design and selection model decisions significantly.
The fast-tracked timeline also underscored an important lesson: adaptability and clear design prioritization are as critical as the design itself.