---

title: Troubleshooting & FAQ description: Frequently asked questions and troubleshooting for Plans in Tidal Control sidebar_position: 3

Troubleshooting & FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I choose the right frequency for my compliance cycle?

Determine frequency based on various factors:

Regulatory requirements first:

• ISO 27001 - Management review annually, risk assessment quarterly
• GDPR - Data subject requests monthly, DPIAs annually
• SOC 2 - Control testing quarterly, management review annually
• NIS 2 - Incident response annually, vulnerability management quarterly

Risk-based approach:

• Critical assets/controls - Quarterly or monthly
• High risk processes - Quarterly assessment
• Medium risk - Twice per year
• Low risk - Annual review

Resource capacity considerations:

• Team availability - How much time available per cycle?
• Expertise requirements - Are specialists available?
• Concurrent workload - How many other compliance activities?
• Seasonal factors - Avoid busy periods (Q4, holidays)

Practical guidelines:

Daily: Only for automated monitoring
Weekly: Use only for high risk AND high execution frequency processes
Monthly: Standard operational reviews (most used)
Quarterly: Assessments and operational reviews
Annually: Policy updates and management reviews

What's the difference between Plan by Controls and Plan by Assets?

Plan by Controls - Control-centric approach:

Use when:

• Framework compliance - ISO 27001, SOC 2 implementation
• Control effectiveness - Assessment of security measures
• Process assessments - Evaluation of procedures and workflows
• Policy compliance - Compliance with organizational guidelines

Benefits:

• Compliance mapping - Directly linked to framework requirements
• Consistent assessment - Same controls, same criteria
• Audit preparation - Framework-ready evidence gathering

Examples:

• Quarterly control effectiveness review (A.01 to A.14)
• Annual ISMS policy compliance check
• SOC 2 control testing cycle

Plan by Assets - Asset-centric approach:

Use when:

• Asset governance - Specific systems or services
• Technology assessments - Cloud platforms, applications
• Vendor management - Third-party service evaluations
• Business unit reviews - Countries, Entities, Regions

Benefits:

• Business alignment - Focus on business-critical assets
• Targeted assessment - In-depth evaluation per asset
• Owner accountability - Clear asset responsibility

Examples:

• Monthly cloud security review (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Quarterly vendor assessment (SaaS providers)
• Annual business unit audit (e.g. Eurasia region)

Making the choice:

• Control-driven compliance → Plan by Controls
• Asset-driven risk management → Plan by Assets
• Hybrid approach → Different plans for different purposes

Common Problems

No tasks are created by my plan

Check the following requirements for automatic task generation:

Plan activation checklist:

• Plan status is active - Green indicator instead of gray
• Valid From date is today or in the past
• Valid To date is in the future
• Scope is configured - Controls or assets selected
• Scope is active - Controls or assets are themselves also active
• Workflow is built - At least one task configured via "Build workflow"

Timing verification:

• Frequency cycle - Has the next generation date been reached?
• Create tasks on date - Is timing in workflow configuration correct?
• Hourly processing - Plans are checked every hour for task generation. If you need tasks created soon, plan them for after the next whole hour.

Workflow configuration check:

• "Add task" executed - Is the workflow actually saved?
• Task instructions - Are instructions filled in and saved?
• Due date configuration - Is deadline set correctly?

Using preview functionality:

1. Check Preview section in plan details
2. Verify task timeline - Are future tasks shown?
3. Check "Number of Tasks" - Is there a number > 0?

Tasks come at wrong times - how do I adjust timing?

Understanding timing configuration:

Workflow timing parameters:

• "Create tasks on" - When tasks are created and visible
• "Their due date is on" - Deadline for task completion
• "Time to Execute" - Period between creation and due date

Timing strategy examples:

Quarterly review:
Create: 1 month before quarter end
Due: 2 weeks after quarter end  
Execute time: 6 weeks

Monthly check:
Create: 25th of the month
Due: 10th of next month
Execute time: 2 weeks

Making timing adjustments:

1. Edit existing plan - Go to Details tab
2. Change task timing - Adjust "Create tasks on" and "Due date"
3. Preview new timing - Check impact on future tasks

Common timing problems:

• Too short execute time - Teams don't have time for planning
• Holiday conflicts - Deadlines fall on holidays
• Workload concentration - All tasks at once
• Resource conflicts - Timing clashes with other compliance cycles

Timing optimization tips:

• Buffer time - At least 1 week between creation and due date
• Avoid holidays - Prevent December/January deadlines
• Spread workload - Create multiple Plans with different timings
• Team consultation - Ask input from executing teams

Why is my plan inactive despite complete configuration?

Diagnosis steps for inactive plans:

Basic configuration verification:

1. Valid From date - Is this in the past or today?
2. Valid To date - Has this not been exceeded?
3. Frequency setting - Is the interval configuration correct?

Scope configuration check:

• Controls/Assets selected - At least one item in scope?
• Active controls/assets - Are scope items themselves active?
• Owner assignment - Do all scope items have owners?

Workflow configuration:

• Tasks configured - Has "Build workflow" been executed?
• Dates filled in - Are creation date and due date filled in?

Status indicator meaning:

• Green "Active" - Plan works correctly
• Gray "Inactive" - Configuration incomplete or invalid

How can I create tasks immediately for multiple controls at once?

Using one-off plans for batch task creation:

Sometimes you want to create tasks immediately for multiple controls or assets.

Creating a one-off plan:

1. Create new plan with appropriate name
2. Set frequency to any value (doesn't matter for one-off)
3. Set "Valid From" to today
4. Set "Valid To" to today or tomorrow - this makes the plan expire quickly
5. Configure workflow with "Create tasks on" set to today's date
6. Select scope - Choose all controls/assets that need immediate tasks
7. Save and activate - Tasks will be created within the hour

One-off plan benefits:

• Batch creation - Create dozens of tasks simultaneously
• Consistent instructions - Same task description for all
• Automatic assignment - Tasks go to appropriate owners
• Self-expiring - Plan deactivates automatically after creation

Come across an issue we haven't covered?

Send an email to support@tidalcontrol.com, and we'll get in touch as soon as possible.