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CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS IMAGE & COLOR IT IN!What do dust-gathering security policies, unfindable incident response plans, and training programs that employees dread more than the actual threats themselves have in common?
A universal truth: Cybersecurity has a usability problem.
That’s why cyber experts and consultants NEED to consider human-centered design (HCD)—because the most comprehensive incident response templates are worthless if they're buried in a 200-page PDF that no one can even find during a crisis.
We’ll be the first to tell you: For those in the tool trenches—think IR consultants, vCISOs, MSPs, and MSSPs—human-centered design in tabletop exercises (TTX) and cyber solutions are beyond a mere ‘preference.’ It’s the very core of creative and effective security systems that your clients will actually use when the digital dragons come knocking.
Ready to see how HCD transforms tabletop exercises and other security offerings from theoretical protection to practical resilience? Let's roll for initiative and dive in.
Security professionals face an impossible choice daily: increase protection and risk adoption pushback, or simplify systems and (potentially) leave gaps and paths to the crown jewels.
When we design security systems with human cognitive limits in mind, we enhance the actual policies themselves and increase adoption rates—ultimately resulting in a stronger and more resilient environment.
Take the humble tabletop exercise. Traditional TTXs often fail because they:
HCD approaches flip this script by:
Your IR plan shouldn’t require a constitution check. That’s why human-centered IR plans ditch the complexity of outdated “theory-based plans” in favor of clarity and the modern-day analyst’s reality.
They're built for the stressed, sleep-deprived analyst who's dealing with their first major incident while executives breathe down their neck.
Or the seasoned specialists who are struggling to evolve with the time—who may not be sure how many gaps are glaring in their rear-view mirror.
Not for the security theorist who designed them in perfect calm.
That’s why great HCD-inspired IR plans include:
Of course, we couldn’t get by without mentioning this underrated heavyweight champ. The best IR plans leverage automation like a non-player character in your security campaign—handling the routine tasks so your human heroes can focus on strategic decisions that solve the problem.
Not all automation is the same, however. The most effective automated support features cool stuff like:
If you’re not sure about the last time your incident response template was updated, it's time for a redesign. We recommend that you start by mapping the actual human workflow during incidents as it stands right now:
Once you can answer these three questions, you can begin to build incident response templates that address these pain points directly, focusing on progressive disclosure and streamlined workflows to encourage engagement while avoiding overwhelm.
TL;DR: Fill the current gaps first before you start to build on what you have. And when you build? Build for the “real world,“ not the ideal or hypothetical one.
Human-centered tabletops share key characteristics that transform them from obligation to opportunity:
1. Realistic scenarios with meaningful choices. Seasoned tabletop leaders create branching scenarios where decisions have consequences that impact the next phase—just like in a real incident.
2. Role-specific challenges. Each participant should face challenges specific to their role that reflect their actual day-to-day responsibilities. For example, your legal counsel shouldn't be making firewall decisions. (And if they are, something has gone seriously wrong.)
3. Appropriate cognitive loads for every member of the guild. It’s best practice to break complex scenarios into manageable "encounter" phases with clear objectives. This step, while tedious, prevents cognitive overload and allows participants to fully engage with each decision point.
4. Real-time feedback loops. Tools like Ally are especially helpful in this step, as they capture decisions, rationales, and outcomes as they happen without disrupting the flow of the exercise.
This information is then used to:
We love a continuous improvement cycle.
Human-centered design is the key that turns theoretical defenses into practical shields in a time of crisis. It’s what makes your entire team reliably execute under pressure—and it’s accessible to even the smallest and scrappiest teams.
By acknowledging the cognitive limits, stress factors, and practical constraints your defenders face, you create a system that meets people where they are, not where security theory thinks they should be. When you do that, you fill in gaps that you might not have even known existed. Talk about proactively protecting those jewels!
Ready to add Ally to your team and transform your tabletop exercises into engaging training grounds that build real response muscle memory? Start for free today, and arm your team with the tools you need to take down the most dastardly threat dragons in your landscape.
Human-centered cybersecurity is an approach that places human needs, capabilities, and behaviors at the core of cybersecurity program strategy and implementation. This proactive approach accounts for human limitations, stress, and failures efficiently, resulting in a system that’s easy to implement.
While many tabletop exercises average 1-4 hours per session, the exercise should continue as long as necessary—allowing as many people to participate and engage as possible.
Many companies find value in completing at least one tabletop exercise per year. We recommend doing it more frequently (think bi-annually or quarterly) to address the current scope of threats lurking out there in the Caverns of Quasqueton.
About Ally Security
Ally is here to support facilitators, which in turn creates a virtuous cycle where exercises take less time, provide more value, are run more frequently, and can make every organization can be better prepared.
The unexpected wins. The client curveballs. The chaos you couldn’t have scripted if you tried. Dear Asa is your space to share the stories that don’t make it into the official post-incident report. Script, submit, and enjoy a chance to be featured or quoted in an upcoming post.
