# Creating Controls and Tasks

> A new control starts empty and Undetermined. How to create one, fill in its information, and give it the manual tasks, tests and plans that make it report.

Source: https://tidalcontrol.com/docs/controls/creating-controls-and-tasks

A new control starts empty and with an Undetermined status. It only begins to report compliance once you give it activities: manual tasks you complete yourself, automated tests, or a plan that generates tasks on a schedule.

## Adding controls

Only a name is required to create a control. Everything else can be filled in afterwards.

### Creating a new control

1. **Go to the Controls page** via the main menu
2. **Click "Add control"** top right in the overview
3. **The add form opens** where you can fill in control information

![Create a new control](/images/help/controls_add_control.png)

### Filling in control information

A custom ID is worth setting now if you're linking this control to an external system later.

**Required fields:**
- **Name** - Choose a clear, descriptive name for the control measure

**Optional fields:**
- **Custom ID** - Your own reference number (useful for linking with external systems)
- **Assign owner** - Select the responsible person from the dropdown
- **Description** - Explain what this control does and why it's important

> **tip:**

**Clear naming**: Use names that directly indicate what the control achieves as an outcome, such as "Information security policy established".

### Saving the control

1. **Check all filled information**
2. **Click "Create"** to create the control
3. **The new control appears** in your overview with status "Undetermined" (gray)

## Adding control activities

There are three ways to give a control something to report on: create a manual task, link an automated test, or attach a plan that creates tasks for you on a fixed frequency.

### Creating manual tasks

1. **Go to the Controls page** (or the Tasks page) via the main menu 
2. **Click "Add task"** top right in the overview
3. **The add form opens** where you can fill in task information

![Creating a new task](/images/help/controls_add_task.png)

### Configuring tests

Tests are linked from the control's own Details tab.

**Opening control details:** 
1. **Click on a control name** in the overview
2. **The control details tab opens** with various sections
3. **Details section contains** all basic information and settings

![Control details tab](/images/help/controls_details_tab.png)

**Linking available Tests:**
1. **Go to "Tests" tab** in control details
2. **Select the text field** to see available tests
3. **Choose relevant tests** for this control, or:
4. **Search tests** by entering the test name in the text field

**Available test types:**
- **Policy compliance tests** - Policy approval compliance
- **Other Tidal tests** - Monitoring quality of input in Tidal, with checks on Control compliance, and correct entry of Risks and assets
- **Integrations with external software** - Monitoring cloud security configurations, user rights, encryption, backup etc.

> **info:**

**Test requirements**: Automated tests require working integrations with external systems. Check integration status before linking tests.

Setup instructions can be found in [Integrations](/docs/integrations)

### Linking plans

**What are plans?**
Plans determine when and how often tasks are automatically created for control validation. These "Plans" are particularly suitable for setting up periodically recurring tasks and automatically assigning them to control executors.

**Opening control details:** 
1. **Click on a control name** in the overview
2. **The control details tab opens** with various sections

![Control details tab](/images/help/controls_details_tab.png)

**Linking a plan:**
1. **Go to "Plans" tab** of the control
2. **Select relevant plan** from available schedules
3. **Automatic task creation** starts according to plan frequency and schedule

**Most common Plan types:**
- **Monthly Monitoring** - Monthly checks
- **Quarterly Testing** - Quarterly validation
- **Annual Review / Audit** - Annual control assessments

> **warning:**

**Plan overload**: Avoid assigning multiple plans to one control. This leads to excessive tasks and confusion about deadlines.