Unpopular opinion: The UI is a maze, makes junior analysts less efficient

Okay, I need to get this off my chest because it’s been slowing down my team’s onboarding process. I’ve been using Mandiant Threat Intel (mostly the portal) for about four months now, coming from a background with some simpler, more focused threat feeds.

My main issue is the navigation. It feels like a maze. When I’m tracking a campaign or trying to assess an IOC during an investigation, I often find myself clicking through three or four different sections just to get the full picture. The data is incredibly rich, which is great, but the way it’s presented isn’t intuitive for someone still learning the ropes.

For example, linking a threat actor profile to related malware, and then to the actual incidents or reports, should be a smoother path. Right now, it feels fragmented. I spend more mental energy figuring out *where* to find the next piece of context than I do actually analyzing it. This isn’t about the quality of the intelligence, which is excellent, but about the efficiency of accessing it.

I’ve talked to a couple other junior analysts here, and they have the same experience. We end up relying on saved searches or bookmarks that our senior analysts set up, which helps, but it means we’re not learning the platform organically. It makes me wonder if the UI is designed more for seasoned analysts who already have the full map in their heads.

Has anyone else found workarounds for this? Or is it just something you get used to over a much longer period? I’m curious if other teams have built internal guides or specific workflows to shortcut the complexity for newer folks.