CISCO
As Lead Product Designer, I guided Cisco's transition from appliance-based firewalls to cloud-native security, creating a unified threat prevention experience that served both small-to-medium businesses and enterprise customers. Through research-driven design and systematic iterations, I delivered a layered architecture that achieved 65% adoption across target segments while establishing a scalable foundation for Cisco's security portfolio.
Goals
Create an intuitive security experience that serves both resource-constrained SMBs and sophisticated enterprise teams
Build user confidence in cloud-based firewall infrastructure to enable seamless adoption and trust for future scalability
Establish reusable design patterns and component systems that can extend across Cisco's cloud security product family
Role
Lead Product Designer
Scope
UX Strategy, User Research, Interaction Design, Information Architecture, Design Systems, Cross-functional Leadership
Collaborators
Product, Research, Customer Success, and Engineering
Timeline
Q3 2021 - Q1 2022
The Shift to Cloud Security
As businesses rapidly moved to cloud-first and hybrid work models, Cisco recognized that traditional appliance-based firewalls were becoming obsolete. The market demanded scalable, cloud-native security solutions that could serve the growing SMB segment while maintaining enterprise-grade capabilities.
The challenge
Legacy firewall systems force organizations into rigid configurations that either overwhelm less technical teams or restrict advanced users, creating a fundamental mismatch between security tool design and real-world IT capabilities. This drives poor adoption, misconfiguration risks, and ultimately weaker security outcomes.
Approach & Key Insights
I led a dual-track discovery and validation process to understand the divergent needs of SMB and enterprise users, shaping both UX strategy and product architecture. User research surfaced key nuances:
Design Principles
Based on research insights and cross-functional alignment with PM and Engineering, I established three core principles to guide all design decisions:
How might we
Design a cloud-native Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) experience that empowers both resource-constrained SMB teams and sophisticated enterprise specialists without compromising security effectiveness for either group?
Workflow Mapping
I mapped the security configuration journey for both personas, identifying critical decision points where SMBs needed simplicity and enterprises needed control.
Strategy
Rather than designing separate experiences for the two user groups, I developed a three-tier system that scales complexity based on user actions.
Feature Design
I designed three core features that work together to serve both user groups within a unified experience.
Smart Defaults
Pre-configured security rules based on industry best practices that eliminate SMBs' fear of misconfiguration. SMB teams can deploy with confidence knowing they're immediately protected, while enterprise users can treat these as starting points for further customization based on organizational needs.
Simulation Mode
Safe preview environment where users can test security configurations and see potential impacts before enabling live enforcement. This addresses the universal "what if I break something?" anxiety by making security decisions reversible and understandable for both novice and expert users.
Progressive Customization
Layered interface that adapts to user expertise and security requirements. Enterprise users can access granular rule customization, policy exceptions, and advanced controls that align with their organizational security posture, while keeping these options hidden from SMB users who prefer simpler workflows.
User Validation
I tested the core concepts with both SMB and enterprise users, which confirmed our layered approach was working and helped fine-tune interface details before launch.
Key Validations
• Simulation mode addressed the trust barrier across both user groups
• Smart defaults gave SMBs the confidence to deploy quickly
• Enterprise users appreciated having advanced options available without being forced into complexity
Key Challenge Identified
Users found the experience fragmented across configuration, customization, and reporting workflows. Future improvements could focus on designing stronger navigational bridges and workflow transitions to create better cross-section continuity.
The MVP
The MVP delivers a core security management flow that serves both user types within a single interface, eliminating the traditional trade-off between simplicity and control in security tools. By building confidence through safe experimentation and smart defaults, the design enables faster adoption while maintaining the advanced capabilities that security professionals require.
The Results
The cloud-native IPS launched successfully with strong adoption across both target segments, validating the unified design approach and establishing new patterns for Cisco's security portfolio.