SOC leaders spend a lot of time talking about tools, coverage, and skills gaps. SIEM tuning. Detection gaps. Training plans. Certifications.
Yet many of the issues that slow investigations, increase escalations, or create inconsistency across a SOC are not technical at all. They come down to judgement.
Judgement under uncertainty is the hardest skill to build in defensive security, and it is also the least explicitly supported.
Where SOC performance really breaks down
When teams struggle, it often shows up as:
- Too many escalations for low-impact issues
- Analysts hesitating or second-guessing decisions
- Inconsistent handling of similar alerts
- Friction between tiers about what should be owned or passed on
- Burnout driven by constant cognitive load
On the surface, these look like experience gaps or process issues. In practice, they are symptoms of uneven judgement.
Most analysts know what an alert is. Fewer are confident deciding what it means, what matters now, and what can safely wait.
Why judgement is harder than knowledge
Technical knowledge can be taught in isolation. Judgement cannot.
Good judgement requires analysts to:
- Work with incomplete or conflicting data
- Balance risk against disruption
- Decide when to escalate without perfect certainty
- Close alerts confidently without fear of being wrong
- Explain reasoning clearly to others
This develops through exposure, reflection, and feedback. Not through checklists alone.
Playbooks help early on, but they cannot cover the grey areas that dominate real SOC work.
The escalation problem is a judgement problem
Many SOCs see escalation as a safety net. When in doubt, escalate.
That feels sensible, but over time it creates two problems:
- Senior analysts become bottlenecks
- Junior analysts do not build confidence in their own decision-making
Escalation should be about impact and risk, not discomfort. If analysts escalate because they are unsure rather than because the situation warrants it, judgement never develops evenly across the team.
Managers play a critical role here by asking why an escalation was made, not just accepting that it happened.
Closure is where judgement really shows
Closure is one of the most uncomfortable skills for newer analysts, and one of the clearest signals of maturity.
Closing well means:
- Understanding why the alert fired
- Knowing what normal looks like in context
- Recording enough reasoning for future reference
- Being comfortable with partial certainty
When analysts are unclear about what “good closure” looks like, they either rush it or avoid it. Both increase noise and stress.
Clear expectations around closure quality, not just speed, help judgement mature faster.
How judgement actually develops in SOCs
Judgement does not come from being told what to do. It develops when analysts are supported to think.
In practice, this happens through:
- Case reviews that focus on reasoning, not outcomes
- Senior analysts talking through their thinking out loud
- Space to ask “what made this feel suspicious” or “why was this safe to close”
- Feedback that explains trade-offs rather than just decisions
Managers who create room for this kind of learning tend to see more consistent performance over time.
What SOC managers can do differently
You do not need a new tool or framework to strengthen judgement. Small shifts make a big difference:
- Ask analysts to explain their reasoning, not just their conclusion
- Encourage notes that capture assumptions and uncertainty
- Normalise “I am not sure yet” as part of investigations
- Use escalations as teaching moments, not just handovers
- Reinforce that reducing uncertainty is often success
The goal is not perfect decisions. It is consistent, explainable ones.
A shared reference helps
One challenge for SOC managers is that expectations are often implicit. Analysts pick them up through observation rather than clarity. A shared reference that explains how SOC work actually flows, where judgement sits, and how careers develop can help align teams without adding process.
If you are looking for something practical you can use in onboarding, mentoring, or career conversations, download the SOC Leaders Play book it’s full of useful checklists and ideas for how to develop your team.
