Descending Zigzag — Security Hardening Sprint (Infographic)
Best for: an unordered-looking work list that a reader should still walk through in a set sequence Avoid when: items are truly parallel, or the sequence is long enough to need dates Answers: what the hardening sprint covers, in the order the team will burn it down
infographic list-zigzag-down-simple
theme
colorPrimary #2b66c4
palette
- #2b66c4
- #2f9e44
- #f3a33c
- #d1242f
- #7048e8
- #0f9b9b
- #c16f8a
- #7c5a3d
data
title Security Hardening Sprint
desc Six workstreams, ordered by blast radius reduction per hour of effort
lists
- label Rotate exposed credentials
desc Every key that appeared in a build log in the last 90 days
- label Enforce signed artifacts
desc Pipeline refuses unsigned images at the deploy step
- label Close public buckets
desc Inventory, then default-deny on all object stores
- label Patch runtime images
desc Rebuild from patched base images and roll canaries first
- label Add dependency scanning
desc Block merges that introduce a known high-severity finding
- label Rehearse key loss
desc Restore the production database from escrow in a drillData Shape
lists with one entry per workstream. The template lays the rows out on a descending zigzag, so the array
order is the burn-down order — highest urgency first.
Key Options
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
list-zigzag-down-simple |
Downward zigzag rows; the reading path is implied rather than drawn |
list-zigzag-up-simple |
Upward variant, which reads as an ascent or growth sequence |
list-waterfall-compact-card |
Steps that also carry amounts |
| Six entries | Zigzag rows alternate direction, so pairs of entries are what the eye groups — keep it even |
Pitfalls
- ❌ Unordered items in a zigzag → ✅ the alternating layout implies a route; if the items are parallel, use a grid
- ❌ Odd entry counts → ✅ the last row points the wrong way and the rhythm breaks
- ❌ Using it where the reader must compare items → ✅ the zigzag is a walking path, not a comparison surface
- ❌ Long descriptions → ✅ each row is short by construction; move detail into the runbook itself
Alternatives
| Variant | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Numbered ordered steps | audit-trail-checkpoints.md |
| Parallel work items | tooling-standard-inventory.md |
| Items with progress facts | program-status-ribbons.md |