5 customisable OKR examples for Security Monitoring

What are Security Monitoring OKRs?

The Objective and Key Results (OKR) framework is a simple goal-setting methodology that was introduced at Intel by Andy Grove in the 70s. It became popular after John Doerr introduced it to Google in the 90s, and it's now used by teams of all sizes to set and track ambitious goals at scale.

Writing good OKRs can be hard, especially if it's your first time doing it. You'll need to center the focus of your plans around outcomes instead of projects.

We understand that setting OKRs can be challenging, so we have prepared a set of examples tailored for Security Monitoring. Take a peek at the templates below to find inspiration and kickstart your goal-setting process.

If you want to learn more about the framework, you can read our OKR guide online.

Building your own Security Monitoring OKRs with AI

While we have some examples available, it's likely that you'll have specific scenarios that aren't covered here. You can use our free AI generator below or our more complete goal-setting system to generate your own OKRs.

Our customisable Security Monitoring OKRs examples

You will find in the next section many different Security Monitoring Objectives and Key Results. We've included strategic initiatives in our templates to give you a better idea of the different between the key results (how we measure progress), and the initiatives (what we do to achieve the results).

Hope you'll find this helpful!

1. OKRs to upgrade security monitoring team skills and tools

Upgrade security monitoring team skills and tools
Decrease incident response time by 15%
Implement efficient incident detection tools
Train teams on rapid incident response protocols
Schedule regular response time audits
Implement advanced security training for 85% of the team
Identify members who need advanced security training
Source experts for advanced security training
Schedule and coordinate training sessions
Increase the detection rate of suspicious activities by 25%
Train employees on identifying potential suspicious activities
Regularly update and enhance security protocols
Implement advanced analytics tools for better suspicious activity detection

Implement this OKR

2. OKRs to enhance security operation centre's monitoring tools

Enhance security operation centre's monitoring tools
Increase tool detection accuracy by 20%
Enhance image recognition algorithms for improved tool detection
Implement regular system audits and accuracy checks
Arrange continuous team training for precision calibration techniques
Reduce false positive alerts by 30%
Conduct regular system accuracy checks
Review and refine existing alert parameters
Implement improved machine learning algorithms
Implement at least 2 new, relevant monitoring features
Develop and test new monitoring features
Identify potential monitoring features aligned with business needs
Deploy and evaluate the new features

monitoring-tools machine-learning-algorithms security-operations-manager ai/ml-engineer security-operations-team ai/ml-development-team

Implement this OKR

3. OKRs to enhance security operations with standardized logging and monitoring

Enhance security operations with standardized logging and monitoring
Train 100% of the tech team on new logging standards and monitoring processes
Develop a comprehensive training module on new logging standards
Implement periodic assessments to ensure comprehension and compliance
Schedule mandatory training sessions for all tech team members
Implement a standardized logging system in 100% of operational scopes
Identify all operational scopes requiring standardized logging
Choose appropriate standardized logging system for implementation
Deploy chosen system across all identified scopes
Achieve 95% detection rate of security issues with enhanced monitoring tools
Research and purchase advanced security monitoring tools
Regularly test and adjust security parameters
Train IT team on using enhanced monitoring tools

security-monitoring standardized-logging tech-team-member it-team-member tech-team it-team

Implement this OKR

4. OKRs to enhance SIEM visibility via diversified log monitoring

Enhance SIEM visibility via diversified log monitoring
Increase log correlation effectiveness by 20% to improve threat detection
Train team on efficient threat detection methods
Regularly monitor and adjust correlation rules
Implement advanced log correlation strategies
Detect and add logs from 100% of currently unmonitored network devices
Identify all currently unmonitored network devices
Implement logging mechanism on each unmonitored device
Verify logs are correctly setup and functioning
Incorporate 30% more diverse log sources into the SIEM system

siem-visibility diversified-log-monitoring network-security-officer it-operations-manager network-security-team it-operations-team

Implement this OKR

5. OKRs to enhance SOC SIEM monitoring tools for efficient detection and response

Enhance SOC SIEM monitoring tools for efficient detection and response
Decrease response time by 30% by integrating automation into incident response workflows
Identify routine tasks in incident response workflows
Test and refine the automated systems
Implement automation solutions for identified tasks
Conduct two test scenarios per month to ensure an upgrade in overall system efficiency
Execute two test scenarios regularly
Analyze and document test results for improvements
Identify potential scenarios for system testing
Increase detection accuracy by 20% employing machine learning algorithms to SOC SIEM tools
Test and fine-tune ML algorithms to increase accuracy
Integrate these models with existing SOC SIEM tools
Develop advanced machine learning models for better anomaly detection

machine-learning incident-response-automation siem-system-engineer incident-response-manager security-operations-center-team incident-response-team

Implement this OKR

Security Monitoring OKR best practices to boost success

Generally speaking, your objectives should be ambitious yet achievable, and your key results should be measurable and time-bound (using the SMART framework can be helpful). It is also recommended to list strategic initiatives under your key results, as it'll help you avoid the common mistake of listing projects in your KRs.

Here are a couple of best practices extracted from our OKR implementation guide 👇

Tip #1: Limit the number of key results

The #1 role of OKRs is to help you and your team focus on what really matters. Business-as-usual activities will still be happening, but you do not need to track your entire roadmap in the OKRs.

We recommend having 3-4 objectives, and 3-4 key results per objective. A platform like Tability can run audits on your data to help you identify the plans that have too many goals.

Tability's audit dashboard will highlight opportunities to improve OKRs

Tip #2: Commit to weekly OKR check-ins

Don't fall into the set-and-forget trap. It is important to adopt a weekly check-in process to get the full value of your OKRs and make your strategy agile – otherwise this is nothing more than a reporting exercise.

Being able to see trends for your key results will also keep yourself honest.

Tability's check-ins will save you hours and increase transparency

Tip #3: No more than 2 yellow statuses in a row

Yes, this is another tip for goal-tracking instead of goal-setting (but you'll get plenty of OKR examples above). But, once you have your goals defined, it will be your ability to keep the right sense of urgency that will make the difference.

As a rule of thumb, it's best to avoid having more than 2 yellow/at risk statuses in a row.

Make a call on the 3rd update. You should be either back on track, or off track. This sounds harsh but it's the best way to signal risks early enough to fix things.

How to turn your Security Monitoring OKRs in a strategy map

Quarterly OKRs should have weekly updates to get all the benefits from the framework. Reviewing progress periodically has several advantages:

It brings the goals back to the top of the mind
It will highlight poorly set OKRs
It will surface execution risks
It improves transparency and accountability

Most teams should start with a spreadsheet if they're using OKRs for the first time. Then, once you get comfortable you can graduate to a proper OKRs-tracking tool.

Tability's Strategy Map makes it easy to see all your org's OKRs

If you're not yet set on a tool, you can check out the 5 best OKR tracking templates guide to find the best way to monitor progress during the quarter.

More Security Monitoring OKR templates

We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.

OKRs resources

Here are a list of resources to help you adopt the Objectives and Key Results framework.

To learn: What is the meaning of OKRs
Blog posts: ODT Blog
Success metrics: KPIs examples

What's next? Try Tability's goal-setting AI

You can create an iterate on your OKRs using Tability's unique goal-setting AI.

Watch the demo below, then hop on the platform for a free trial.

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