FAQ: Which assessment methodology should I use?

It is possible to complete any kind of assessment using any of the three supported methodologies- organizational, app or vendor. There are pros and cons to each approach, and the three methods were developed with specific ideas in mind. However, you might be assessing a different type of object that doesn’t cleanly fit into any of the three categories. The following table attempts to itemize the differences between the three different methodologies to help you choose which one will work best for you.

 

Organizational

App

Vendor

 

Organizational

App

Vendor

Assess multiple targets in one step?

Yes (you can select multiple OUs at one time)

No

No

Has questions?

Yes

Yes

Yes

Can be created from the Assessment page?

No

Yes

Yes

Can be created/editing/deleted by a superuser from the Settings page?

Yes

Yes

Yes

Includes data enrichment (classification) as part of the survey?

Yes- optional (as of latest builds)

Yes- required (app classification)

No

Can import previously filled survey data (if this is a repeated assessment within a series on the same target)?

Yes- optional (survey launch window lets you choose to import or not)

Yes- automatically imports if possible

No

Allows anyone with access to a link to fill out the survey?

No

No

Yes

Can be created by Assessment Managers?

No

Yes

Yes

Can be created by Vendor Requestors?

No

No

Yes

Who can launch the survey(s)?

Assessment Managers of each targeted OU

Assessment Manager of the owning OU

Anyone with VendorRequestor or better role in the requesting OU

Has an acknowledgment step on the questions portion?

Yes

Yes

Yes

Entire survey can be prefinal acknowledged by an Assessment Manager?

Yes

No (there is no prefinal acknowledgment)

No (there is no prefinal acknowledgment)

Entire survey can be acknowledged by an Assessment Manager?

No- only OU Head can final acknowledge.

Yes

N/A (anyone with access to the survey can acknowledge it)

Entire survey can be acknowledged by an OU Head?

Yes

No

N/A (anyone with access to the survey can acknowledge it)

Who can answer questions on the survey?

Assessment Managers and IT Staff of the targeted OU; Question Category delegates

Assessment Managers and IT Staff of the OU that owns the app; named app owners

Anyone with the link; anyone with VendorRequestor or higher role in the OU that owns the assessment

Who can answer data enrichment (classification) questions?

Assessment Managers and IT Staff of the targeted OU; Host Delegates (Owners, Users, and It Staff on the hosts)

Assessment Managers and IT Staff of the OU that owns the app; named app owners

N/A

In addition to the roles specifically mentioned in the table, superusers can perform all of the activities mentioned.

The different assessment methodologies also support slightly different e-mail notifications. To review those differences, see https://saltycloud.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/TES/pages/1833172993