Table of Contents
Summary
Assessment Automation replaces the previous Renewal Cadence tool with a smarter, more flexible way to automate recurring vendor assessments. Teams can now include documents, schedule multiple cadences, assign multiple vendor contacts, and automatically stay up to date with the latest questionnaire versions.
🚀 Accessing Assessment Automation
To begin, navigate to the Assessment Automation tab from the Vendor Detail page. This is where all scheduling and automation settings now live.
For those who are new, here are some quick steps to get you there:
- Select Assess from the top menu
- Click on Vendors
- Select a vendor you wish to configure assessment automation for
- Click Assessment Automation on the left
⚙️ Configuring Assessment Content
Questionnaires
Users can now select multiple questionnaires to include in one automated request. This is ideal for sending different frameworks to different teams.
Documents
In addition to questionnaires, users can attach documents—such as policies, audit reports, or any file vendors must complete.
Auto-Versioning
Whistic will automatically use the most recent version of each questionnaire in all scheduled cadences. This eliminates the need to manually update automation settings.
👥 Defining Recipients and Cadences
Adding Contacts
Users can assign requests to multiple vendor contacts to ensure the appropriate recipients receive the necessary materials.
Scheduling Cadences
Users can define multiple cadences per vendor. For example, send documents in June, then questionnaires in November—each with their own recipients and timing.
Cancelling or Modifying Occurrences
To view or manage a scheduled cadence, navigate to the Vendor Detail page and click the View Details button next to the "Next Assessment". From there, users can modify or cancel individual occurrences as needed.
Event Ordering
The next scheduled event always appears at the top of the cadence list. This view helps maintain clarity and prioritization.
📊 Understanding Automation Statuses
Not Scheduled
This status appears when no automation has been configured yet. It indicates that setup is needed to activate automation.
Automation Error: Action Required
If a contact tied to a cadence is removed or becomes invalid or the assessment date is blank, the system will show "Action Required." Users can update the information to restore automation. There will be a yellow tag on the page notifying you what needs to be adjusted in order to be successfully configured.
Upcoming
When the automation is fully configured, the system displays "Upcoming" along with the next scheduled event.
📥 Adding Assessment Automation (In Bulk)
If you need to add automated reassessments or update the questionnaire to the latest version in bulk, please follow these steps:
- Login to Whistic
- Navigate to Resources > Bulk Vendor Export & Import
- Download a New Bulk Vendor Import Sheet
- Once the file generates, download and open the file
- Identify all Program Automation columns in the spreadsheet:
- Default Questionnaire (documents cannot be setup in this method, only in platform)
- Default Contact Email (one single, vendor contact)
- Next Questionnaire Date (format: mm/dd/yyyy)
- Renewed Every (number format: 1, 2, 3, etc.)
- Renewal Timeframe (weeks, months, years)
- Update the above columns with the information that is applicable. Note: All columns in this section must be filled in to ensure that the automation is configured correctly, failure to do so will leave the configuration half setup and will result in the automation not firing.
Additional Notes:
- This option of updating the information via the bulk vendor import template does not allow documents, multiple recipients or multiple assessment automations for a single vendor to be configured. This is limited to in-platform only.
- If you wish to update all questionnaires to the latest version, simply export and reimport the file without changing any data, this will sync the questionnaire column to be the latest version on file.
🗑️ Removing Assessment Automation (In Bulk)
If you need to stop ALL automated reassessments and completely remove assessment automation settings, please follow these steps:
- Login to Whistic
- Navigate to Resources > Bulk Vendor Export & Import
- Download a New Bulk Vendor Import Sheet
- Once the file generates, download and open the file
- Locate Program Automation Columns in the spreadsheet
-
Clear Automation Data
- Remove all data from the Program Automation columns
- Important: Do not delete the columns themselves - only clear the data within them
- Save the file after making these changes
- Return to Whistic
-
Import the Updated Sheet
- Upload the modified sheet from either:
- The Resources > Bulk Vendor Export & Import page, or
- The Vendors page
-
Confirm Removal
- The assessment automation will be completely removed for all vendors upon the success message received.
- No further automated reassessments will be sent
❓ FAQ
Can I include both questionnaires and documents in one cadence?
Yes. You can configure each cadence to include any combination of questionnaires and documents.
What happens if a questionnaire template is updated?
Whistic automatically applies the latest version of each questionnaire to all future cadences.
Can I run multiple cadences for the same vendor?
Yes. You can schedule different requests at various times and assign them to different recipients as needed.
Why am I seeing "Automation Error: Action Required" on a vendor's assessment automation?
This status means a required field in the automation setup is missing or invalid — for example, a blank Scheduled Date or a contact that was removed from the vendor's profile. Click View Details next to Next Assessment to see which field is flagged, update it, and click Save to resolve the error and restore automation.