Troubleshooting & FAQ

Nearly every plan problem is a scope or activation problem: a plan generates no tasks until it is active and its scope actually contains eligible items. The answers below cover frequency, the difference between scoping by controls and by assets, and how to diagnose a plan that produces nothing.

Frequently asked questions

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

Let the framework's own required cadence set the frequency, rather than picking one that feels convenient.

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?

Scope by controls when you're proving framework compliance; scope by assets when the review is really about one specific system.

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 organisational 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?

Three settings control timing together: when a task is created, when it's due, and how much time sits between the two.

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 optimisation 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?

Start with the basics (the validity dates and frequency) before checking whether the scope itself is the problem.

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

Still can't figure it out?

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