monitors 150+ billion security events per day in 130+ countries.

Enterprises outsource their security needs to IBM for assistance.

IBM Managed Security Services offers around-the-clock monitoring, management and response to advanced threats, risks and compliance requirements.

IBM offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of managed services and the deepest integrated security ecosystem.

Unifying platforms to solve security workers’ pain points.

On Managed Security Services, I designed experiences for our security platform Horizon.

These designs allowed workers to request response to threats without having to jump between disconnected tools and workflows.

I researched the needs of security workers so that we could deliver experiences that solved our users’ problems.

Role:
UX Designer

Toolkit:
Figma, Mural, Jira, & Github

Design Workshop

I facilitated a workshop with key stakeholders to gain deep insights into the critical business and user needs, craft a comprehensive roadmap, and accurately estimate the design efforts required for the next steps. This collaborative approach allowed for a holistic understanding of the project requirements, paving the way for a more strategic and impactful design solution.

32 in-depth interviews (30-60 min) with workers on the front-line of enterprise security—those who are protecting their organization from internal and external cyber threats.

  • Threat Monitoring Analyst

  • Advanced Analyst

  • Threat Analyst on Duty

  • SOC Manager

  • Security Correlation Engineer

What: Analysis of customer facing ticketing functionality and user experience

Why: To establish user and MSS (Managed Security Services) needs and opportunities for ticketing to optimize outcomes

Synthesizing insights

I catalogued user interviews and linked them to the relevant tickets. By maintaining a well-organized record of user insights, I was able to effectively prioritize design changes that accurately reflected the users' needs and preferences. This methodical approach enabled me to deliver a more user-centric and satisfying product experience.

What people are saying about legacy product VSOC

Customers are overwhelmed with available, similar options.

It is difficult to decide how they differ. Labeling is misleading or difficult to understand. For example, signature vs event.

Customers enter incomplete/wrong data.

Customers who submit the ticket are often not experts. They are not sure which data is required and/or what exactly they want to change in their systems.

Customers select only one device or describe only one change using designated fields.

They add other changes in the Notes. Some customers see it as a way to transfer the workload to the IBM analysts.

Customers take the path of least resistance:

Customers use General/Other tickets instead of specific ones.
Customers use Description/Notes and Attachments to communicate their needs and connect with analysts.

Applying the
Carbon Design System

I conducted a comprehensive audit of the Horizon app, identified and resolved 100’s of preexisting Carbon use errors.

I utilized Carbon components and patterns to facilitate the redesign of the 7 ticket forms.

VSOC App (Legacy)

Horizon App (New)

Ticketing flow
re-design

I deliberately designed a seamless user flow by implementing a meticulously crafted ticketing system that incorporated accurate nomenclature, appropriate fields, and strategic automation. This thoughtful approach not only optimized the ticketing process but also ensured that all user inquiries were accurately and efficiently routed to the appropriate channels. The result was a streamlined and intuitive user experience that led to increased user satisfaction and productivity.

• Horizon guides Customers in the ticket creation. Tickets branch which allows Customers to see only what is important at this particular moment.

• It eliminates the information overload, which is a major drawback of VSOC.

• Horizon provides customer ability to submit policy change requests, security incidents and service requests.

• Gathered data is sufficient to process the ticket.

Resolving pain points

The implementation of the Carbon Design System ensured an improved and streamlined experience. The new ticketing flow resulted in a notable improvement in accuracy. The migration of ticket forms and successful replacement of the legacy product VSOC for the new platform horizon enhanced overall operational efficiency.