Understanding the Simplified Assessment Workflow

Overview Toggle Button Progress Bar FAQ

Overview

The new assessment workflow is simplified into six stages: Not Started, In Progress, Pending Approval, Approved, Failed, and Approved Pending Remediation.

Not Started

The assessment can be in one of two sub-states: Draft or Published. When not yet published, the survey cannot be accessed by respondents. Once published, the survey is ready to accept responses. When a respondent begins answering, the assessment moves to In Progress.

In Progress

The survey has started and remains in this state until respondents complete it. When the respondent submits the survey, the assessment moves to Pending Approval.

Pending Approval

The assessment is ready for review by approvers, who check whether responses are compliant and review any remediation tasks. An approver cannot move the assessment to Approved while any issues remain pending. If the approver resolves all issues but there are still open remediation tasks, the assessment moves to Approved Pending Remediation.

Approved Pending Remediation

The assessment is technically approved but has open remediation tasks to complete. Once those tasks are finished, the assessment automatically moves to Approved.

Approved / Failed

The assessment has been completed and reached its final stage.

Sending the Survey to Respondents with a Simple Toggle Button

As an Assessment Owner, Approver, or Admin of an assessment using the simplified workflow, you can send back the survey to respondents from any state through a simple toggle button. Enabling the toggle re-sends the survey, makes it accessible to respondents, and returns the assessment to the In Progress state. Disabling the toggle restricts respondent access at any time.

System behaviour on the Accepting responses toggle button:

Not Started > In Progress	Once the assessment is published and sent, the system automatically enables the Accepting responses toggle button.
In Progress > Pending Approval	Once the respondent has submitted the survey, the system automatically disables the Accepting responses toggle button.

📋 Note: When the respondent re-submits the assessment, all approvals will be required again. If you try to disable the toggle while a respondent is actively answering the survey, an error message will appear.

New Progress Bar for Assessments

The progress bar (displayed at the upper left) shows how close the assessment is to approval and guides you to the next steps as you move forward.

When the assessment has just been created and not yet answered, it is in the Not Started state.

When respondents begin saving their responses, the assessment moves to the In Progress state. Ownership of the assessment belongs to the respondents at this point.

Once respondents submit their responses, the assessment moves to the Pending Approval state. Approvers and reviewers can then review responses, update them, and approve or fail the assessment.

Once approvers make their decision, the assessment reaches the final stage. If failed, the progress bar turns red and displays Failed as the last status.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will happen to assessments that used the original workflow?

Existing assessments will continue to follow the original workflow for consistency. The new simplified workflow applies only to assessments created after this release, including those created via:

• Creating an assessment from the All Assessments page
• Creating an assessment from Risk Profile
• Creating an assessment from the Data Inventory Hub
• Building an assessment from the Templates page
• Cloning an assessment — note that cloning an assessment using the original workflow will generate one using the new simplified workflow
• Assessment Revalidation
• Smart URL Assessment Creation
• Auto Assessment

Will I still be able to access assessments that use the original workflow?

Yes. All assessments remain accessible from the All Assessments page. An indicator shows whether each assessment is using the original or the new simplified workflow.

Will issues and remediation tasks still be available?

Yes. Issues and remediation tasks are still generated when templates are configured for compliance and auto tasks. Both are generated when answers are saved and are available for review in the Action Plan tab during the Pending Approval state. The Action Plan tab is unchanged.

As an approver, can I approve an assessment with pending issues?

No. As with the original workflow, the approver cannot approve an assessment that has pending or unresolved issues. However, if there are open remediation tasks, approving the assessment will move it to the Approved Pending Remediation state.

If I clone an assessment using the original workflow, will the clone also use the original workflow?

No. Cloning an original-workflow assessment produces a new assessment using the simplified workflow, since all newly created assessments now follow the simplified workflow. Responses can still be copied over as before.

What will happen to the AM-DIH mapping integration now that some states have been removed?

The Review Complete status is being removed from the AM-DIH Integration mapping page. Existing templates that had Review Complete mapped are being updated to Approved or Approved Pending Remediation.

In the Not Started state, how can I tell whether an assessment is a draft or published?

A coloured dot appears beside the status in the All Assessments page. A grey dot indicates Draft; a green dot indicates Published. Hover over the dot to see a tooltip.

How will the new simplified workflow affect existing assessment configurations?

Existing assessment configurations can still be used with the simplified workflow. However, the workflow field will no longer be applied — all new assessments created using those configurations will follow the simplified workflow regardless.

When creating a new assessment configuration, the workflow type can no longer be selected — the simplified workflow is always used.

TrustArc  ·  Simplified Assessment Workflow  ·  support.trustarc.com