Answer a checklist and attach evidence

An answered checklist documents a recurring review of your ISMS — a supplier approval, an onboarding control or the annual self-assessment against ISO/IEC 27001 or BSI IT-Grundschutz. You answer the questions in the answer form, attach the evidence and check the result in the preview.

Prerequisites

• You have access to the associated organisation, or the checklist is released for “All organisations”.
• The checklist has the status “Released”. With the status “New”, “In progress” or “Archived”, the “Answer” button does not appear.
• You have the permission “Answer”.

Answer the checklist

1. Open the checklist overview and click anywhere in the row of the table to open the detail view.
2. Click “Answer” in the upper right — alternatively, choose the “Answer” entry via the “Actions” selection menu. A side panel with the answer form opens.
3. First read the “Introductory text”, if available — it usually states the scope of validity and processing notes.
4. Answer the questions depending on the “Response type”:
   • “Single selection”: select an answer from the selection menu. If the chosen answer option allows comments, the “Comment” field also appears.
   • “Multiple choice”: tick one or more boxes. For each checked answer option that allows comments, a separate “Comment” field appears.
   • “Text (single line)” and “Text (multi-line)”: enter your answer in the text input field.
   • “Date entry”: select a date from the date picker.
   • “Risk matrix”: for “Probability of occurrence” and “Severity of the impact”, select one of the levels “Negligible”, “Limited”, “Essential” or “Maximum value”. The matrix above the two fields updates live; use the “Comment” field to explain the rating.
5. Click “Save”. The confirmation “The checklist has been completed successfully.” appears. The detail view then shows the answers in the “Reply” section, and the “Last reply on” column in the overview is updated.

Attach evidence

1. Use the “Comment” field to describe the facts you reviewed for an answer — especially for critical ratings.
2. In the detail view, switch to the “Files” tab and attach the evidence there, such as screenshots, certificates or external statements. It is archived together with the checklist.
3. Transfer identified gaps directly into concrete tasks with an owner and a due date in the “Tasks” tab.

Display the preview

1. Click “Preview” in the upper right. A page-formatted preview of the checklist opens, exactly as it is also generated for download.
2. Close the preview using the X in the upper right.

Practical tips

• Use the preview as a final visual check before handing the checklist to an auditor or to management: unanswered mandatory questions or missing comments on critical answers are much easier to spot in the rendered form than in the table view.
• Duplicate a recurring checklist before each new completion. Otherwise the new answer overwrites the old one, and the review history over several years can no longer be traced.
• Every completion is logged with a timestamp and the executing person in the “Activities” tab — the evidence trail for your internal audit and your certification body.