Instructional & Learning Experience Design

Design for
the behavior.

I'm Rachel Masson — an instructional designer with 10+ years building enterprise learning that moves what people do on the job, not just what they complete. Behavior-first, measured, and AI-augmented.

See the work or start a conversation →
100+
global enablement programs designed & shipped
41%
lift in learner completion across technical training
46%
gain in knowledge retention via refined ADDIE workflows
7K+
employees reached · 100% learner NPS
01.
What I do

Three things, done deeply

Not a tool menu — a way of working. Every engagement runs through these three.

Behavior-first design

Programs built around one observable on-the-job behavior — with reinforcement and reflection treated as the design, not the extras.

AI-augmented build

An AI-assisted workflow — prompt packages, reusable spec docs — that ships more, faster, while the instructional judgment stays human.

Measured outcomes

Baselines, targets, and xAPI instrumentation mapped to Kirkpatrick — so success reads as a change in behavior, not a completion rate.

02.
Selected work

A few projects, built all the way down

Each case study turns on a single behavior — and is engineered, end to end, to change it.

01
Leadership · SaaS
Behavior change

Teaching first-time SaaS managers one habit: ask before you answer.

New managers default to rescuing — solving the problem themselves instead of coaching the person in front of them. The Accelerator builds the whole program around reversing that one reflex, with three shared models running through every lesson.

The behavior it moves Answer it for them→Ask before you answer
Role · Full program design & Rise buildClient · Helios Cloud (fictional)
One shared language — three models
GROW
Goal · Reality · Options · Will
SBI
Situation · Behavior · Impact
Delegation
What to hand off, how much to hold
Read the full case study →
02
Security awareness
Hybrid workforce

Moving 5,000 hybrid employees from deleting phishing to reporting it.

Most awareness training chases compliance and ignores the one act that actually protects the company: reporting. CyberSafe Remote teaches a single, portable detection routine — the 5-Flag Scan — and rebuilds the culture around reporting fast, not deleting quietly.

The behavior it moves Delete it→Report it in under 30 min
Role · Design, build & measurementTools · Rise 360 + Storyline · xAPI
The 5-Flag Scan
01Sender — is it really who it claims?verify
02Pressure — urgency, threats, secrecyslow down
03Links — hover before you trustinspect
04Request — money, credentials, dataquestion
05Gut — does anything feel off?report
Read the full case study →
03
AI enablement
Enterprise scale

Getting ~9,000 employees to actually use two new AI tools, safely.

Buying AI licenses is easy; changing how people work is not. The AI Adoption Accelerator replaces "go figure it out" with a small set of repeatable habits — anchored by the 5-Part Prompt — that lift real adoption, protect company data, and produce measurable time savings.

The behavior it moves Avoid the tools→Use them daily, safely
Role · Lead designerClient · Vantage Technologies (fictional)
The 5-Part Prompt
01Role — who the AI should beframe
02Task — what you want donedirect
03Context — what it needs to knowground
04Constraints — rules & limitsbound
05Format — how the answer should lookshape
Read the full case study →
03.
How I work

A point of view, applied the same way every time

A disciplined ADDIE/SAM process and Kirkpatrick measurement are the floor. These four commitments are what make the work hold up.

i

Behavior over completion

Every program is defined by one observable on-the-job behavior. If a course only proves people clicked through, it hasn't done its job.

Anchored in Kirkpatrick L3
ii

A common language

Two or three named models run through every lesson, identically each time. Shared vocabulary is what lets a behavior survive past the final screen.

Cognitive load · transfer
iii

Restraint reads as expertise

Custom interaction is reserved for three or four high-leverage moments; everything else stays clean by choice. A course that flexes everywhere flexes nowhere.

Accessibility-first · WCAG 2.1
iv

Measure what moved

I start from a baseline and a target, instrument with xAPI, and report on the behavior — not the seat time. Modeled figures are always labeled as modeled.

Needs analysis → xAPI analytics
04.
Capabilities

The full stack, from analysis to LMS

Methodologies

  • ADDIE
  • SAM
  • Agile learning design
  • Human-centered design
  • Adult learning theory

Authoring

  • Articulate 360
  • Rise & Storyline
  • Adobe Captivate
  • Camtasia
  • Sana Learn

LMS / LXP

  • Canvas
  • D2L
  • Workday Learn
  • Degreed
  • SaaS platforms

Standards & Accessibility

  • SCORM 1.2 / 2004
  • xAPI
  • Section 508
  • WCAG 2.1

Measurement

  • Kirkpatrick L1–L4
  • Needs & gap analysis
  • xAPI analytics
  • KPIs / OKRs

Collaboration

  • SME partnership
  • Stakeholder alignment
  • Project management
  • Mentoring designers
05.
Who I am

A teacher who became a designer

Rachel MassonRachel Masson
I make complex, technical subjects feel learnable — and make learning prove itself.

Over ten years I've designed 100+ enablement programs across AI, cybersecurity, cloud and product domains, most recently as Manager of Technical Learning & Enablement at Workday, where my programs reached 7,000+ Product & Technology employees and earned a 100% learner NPS. Before that I built blended curricula for 5,000+ employees at TK Elevator and consulted for enterprise clients at APASS.

I came up through teaching, so adult learning science is the backbone of how I work — paired with UX and product training that keeps the learner, and the business outcome, at the center. I'm currently taking on part-time and contract projects where that combination can move a real number.

Education
  • Post-Graduate Certificate, Instructional Design · University of Georgia
  • M.A. Teaching · University of West Georgia
  • B.A. History, Pre-Law · Georgia State University
Certifications
  • UX Design · Google
  • Project Management · Google
  • Product Management · Product HQ
Let's talk

Move a number
that matters.

If you have a learning problem framed as a real behavior — a report rate, a ramp time, an adoption curve — that's the work I want. Part-time, contract, or a defined project.

Email me Download Resume
Engagement
Part-time · contract
Hours
20–30 / week
Location
Remote
Start
Flexible
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