2025-11-17 –, Westin - Partenkirchen
High-performing teams thrive when focus, flow, and collaboration are supported – not interrupted. But what happens when security requirements unintentionally overload a team’s cognitive capacity? In this talk, we’ll explore how excessive cognitive load – what I call a Human Buffer Overflow – can reduce a team’s ability to deliver high-quality, creative solutions. Drawing from real-life examples, I’ll share practical strategies to reduce friction: from automating security tasks, to integrating security into agile workflows, to launching inclusive Security Champions programs that empower teams rather than burden them. Let’s shift security left – without burning teams out.
The term “cognitive load” describes the total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory of a person or a team. The term was introduced in 1988 by John Sweller and has since been used to describe the challenge of balancing work complexity to make teams highly successful and performant.
This talk is about how security related tasks add an additional layer of complexity to the already versatile work of modern software development teams and how the resulting increased cognitive load can be managed in a way that sustains the team’s performance. The talk is structured into three main parts
- What is Cognitive Load?
- Laying out the problem of security increasing cognitive load, and the effects of too much cognitive load on high-performing teams
- Real-life examples of solution strategies
In the first part I introduce the audience to cognitive load theory, how long-term memory and working memory work together and what types of cognitive load have been defined by cognitive load researchers.
In the second part I give a short definition of the term “team” and describe the challenges for software development teams in integrating security into their work, such as setting up and maintaining software security scans, understanding the reports, analyzing, triaging, and remediating the findings, participating in training, and staying up to date with relevant topics. Teams have to find ways to integrate these additional efforts into their regular workflows. The consequences of a team having a cognitive load overflow are severe for the team's way of working, the quality of work, and ultimately the organization's assets. I will go over a list of typical security-related tasks, categorize them by cognitive load type, and give examples of how to address the cognitive load by reducing it or turning it into a learning opportunity, thereby strengthening the team's resilience. I want to discuss solutions to balance the cognitive load. Such solutions can include:
- Introducing a Security Champions Program for managing security-related tasks in a team
- Automating security processes
- Introducing security into the agile development workflow
- Offering security training
In the third part, I will show different real-life examples demonstrating the successful implementation of these strategies within software development teams and their impact on the team's way of working, quality of work, and solution-finding capabilities.
The main takeaway for attendees will be deep insights into the challenges of cognitive load for software development teams and actionable solution strategies demonstrated through real-life examples.
Founder & Security Community Expert @ FullCyrcle Security
Juliane Reimann has worked as a cybersecurity consultant for large companies since 2019, with a focus on DevSecOps and community building. Her expertise includes building security communities among software developers and establishing developer-centric communication around secure software development topics. Before entering the cybersecurity field, she founded several companies in web development. Her web development background provides her with extensive knowledge of the software development lifecycle. Since 2024, she has been a core member of the OWASP Security Champions Guide Community.