# Getting started with Issues > What issues are in Tidal Control and how to read the Issues page. What the statuses mean and how the issue types differ, from audit findings to control gaps. Source: https://tidalcontrol.com/docs/issues/getting-started The Issues page is where everything that went wrong or could be better is recorded: audit findings, control gaps, incidents, and improvement actions. This article covers reading that overview, the seven issue types, and how priority is meant to be assigned. ## Navigating the Issues page The overview lists every issue with its status, priority, and the control or asset it affects. ### Opening the Issues page Go to the Issues section via the main menu. You'll arrive at an overview page where all non-conformities from your organisation are displayed. ![Issues overview](/images/help/issues_overview.png) ### What you see in the overview The issues overview shows important information per non-conformity: - **Status** - Orange dot for Open issues, green for Closed - **Period** - Time period in which issue is registered (e.g. "Year 2025") - **Name** - Descriptive title of the non-conformity - **Due Date** - Deadline for solution (if set) - **Priority** - Urgency level (High, Medium, Low) - **Issue Type** - Category of the non-conformity (7 different types) - **Assets** - Number of linked business assets - **Controls** - Number of linked controls - **Assignee** - Assigned person for solution ### Understanding status An issue's status runs from unresolved and active to closed once the work is genuinely done. **Open issues (orange dot):** - Unresolved non-conformities - Actively being worked on or not yet picked up - Visible in daily work lists - Counted in compliance calculations **Closed issues (gray):** - Resolved and approved non-conformities - Visible via "Closed" tab for historical overview - No longer active in workflows - Available for audit and reporting ## Understanding issue types Tidal distinguishes 7 different categories of non-conformities: ### 1. Generic - Default Type **When to use:** General problems and administrative matters **Example:** "Employee screening procedure must be implemented" **Characteristics:** Broad organisational improvement points ### 2. Audit finding **When to use:** Problems identified during internal or external audits **Example:** "External auditor identifies missing document for required policy X" **Characteristics:** Formal findings that threaten compliance ### 3. Control gap **When to use:** Missing or insufficient controls **Example:** "Access control system doesn't fully restrict admin rights" **Characteristics:** Identified during GAP analysis, requires new controls ### 4. Incident **When to use:** Security incidents and actual breaches **Example:** "Phishing attack compromises employee account" **Characteristics:** Reactive handling of actual events ### 5. Action plan **When to use:** Structured improvement projects and implementations **Example:** "Employee training program rollout in Q2 for security awareness" **Characteristics:** Proactive planning of future activities ### 6. Control deficiency **When to use:** Existing controls that don't function effectively **Example:** "Encryption process has errors leaving data unencrypted" **Characteristics:** Implemented measures that fail in practice ### 7. Opportunity for improvement **When to use:** Functional processes that can be optimised **Example:** "Improve onboarding documentation for faster security training" **Characteristics:** Preventive optimisation for better efficiency > **info:** **Type selection**: Choose the most specific type for your issue. This helps with filtering, reporting and assigning to the right experts in your organisation. ## Interpreting priorities Priority is set by hand, not derived, so it is only useful if everyone applies the same rule for what counts as High. ### Priority levels High priority means immediate, daily attention; low priority is fine to leave for later. **High - Red:** - Critical security risks - Compliance threats - Immediate action required - Daily monitoring needed **Medium - Orange:** - Important improvement points - Planned implementation within weeks - Regular follow-up sufficient - Standard priority for most issues **Low - Green:** - Nice-to-have improvements - Long-term planning - Implementation when time available - Low impact on compliance ### Priority assignment tips Base priority on real deadlines and active risk, not on how loud someone is about it. **Assign High priority for:** - Audit findings that threaten certification - Security incidents with ongoing risk - Compliance deadlines within 30 days - Issues that disrupt business operations **Medium priority for:** - Planned improvement projects - Control gaps without direct threat - Action plans with quarterly deadlines - Opportunities with measurable benefit ## Searching and filtering Search matches issue names, and the filters narrow by status, type, priority, owner, and the control or asset involved. ### Search functionality Nothing filters until you press Enter; there is no live-as-you-type result. **Using the search bar:** 1. **Click in the search bar** at the top of the overview 2. **Type issue names** or keywords (e.g. "phishing", "backup", "training") 3. **Press 'Enter'** and your search results are displayed ### Filter options Use the filter dropdown menus to find specific issues: **Open vs Closed:** - **Open (6)** - Active issues requiring attention - **Closed (0)** - Handled issues for historical overview **Filter by Controls:** - Show issues linked to specific controls - Useful for impact analysis of control problems **Filter by Assets:** - Show issues related to specific business assets - Useful for asset-based problem analysis **Filter by Assignee:** - Show issues assigned to specific people - Perfect for personal work lists **Filter by Priority:** - **High** - Critical issues requiring immediate attention - **Medium** - Standard priority issues - **Low** - Low priority improvement points **Filter by Issue Type:** - Select specific categories (Generic, Audit finding, etc.) - Combine with other filters for targeted views > **info:** It's not possible to create your own filters because attributes are missing for Issues. ### Combining multiple filters You can use different filters simultaneously for very specific results: - **Example**: Filter on "Audit finding" + "High" priority + "Open" status to see critical audit findings - **Reset filters**: Click away individual filters or refresh the page ## What counts as an issue Issues in Tidal Control are non-conformities, findings and improvement points that can impact your Information Security Management System (ISMS). The system helps you systematically register, assign and resolve these by: - **Recording non-conformities** - Document non-conformities and compliance problems - **Registering incidents** - Track security incidents and breaches - **Planning improvement actions** - Manage opportunities and action plans - **Monitoring progress** - Track status and deadlines of solutions - **Facilitating collaboration** - Team communication and evidence collection By registering and monitoring issues in Tidal, you gain insight into compliance status, outstanding problems and the effectiveness of your improvement actions. > **tip:** Issues can be linked to controls and assets. This creates a complete picture of which problems apply where and how they affect your compliance. Read more about this in [Creating and managing issues](/docs/issues/creating-and-managing-issues) ## Next steps Now that you know how to find and interpret issues, you can: - **Register new non-conformities** you encounter - **Assign issues** to the right team members - **Collaborate** on solutions via comments - **Monitor progress** of outstanding problems > **note:** **No issues visible?** This may mean that no non-conformities have been registered yet in your Tidal environment. Start by adding your first issue via the "Add issue" button.