Table of Contents
Summary
The Clarification Questions feature allows you to seek additional information about specific vendor assessment responses directly within the platform. When you run a Vendor Summary and Whistic's AI provides an answer, but you need more context or detail, this feature helps you get the clarity you need.
This powerful tool leverages Whistic's AI Smart Search to provide instant answers when possible, while also enabling direct communication with vendors when human clarification is needed. Smart Search automatically searches existing vendor documentation, previous assessment responses, security artifacts, and historical vendor data to answer your questions—often eliminating the need to contact the vendor at all.
🪜 How to Use Clarification Questions
Step 1: Open the Vendor Summary
Navigate to the vendor assessment you're reviewing and open their Vendor Summary page.
Step 2: Locate the Question You Want to Clarify
Browse through the assessment and navigate to the specific question or response that requires additional context or clarification.
Step 3: Initiate a Clarification Question
Select the Ask Clarifying Question option associated with the question you want to clarify.
Step 4: Enter Your Question
A dialog window will appear with a text field. Clearly state your clarifying question in the space provided. Be specific and detailed to ensure you receive the most helpful response.
Step 5: Review the AI Smart Search Response
Before contacting the vendor directly, Whistic's AI Smart Search will automatically attempt to answer your question using:
- Existing vendor documentation
- Previous assessment responses
- Available security artifacts
- Historical vendor data
Step 6: Save or Escalate the Response
Review the Smart Search answer provided and choose your next action:
- If the AI response fully addresses your question: Select Save as Comment to add the Smart Search reply to the question's comment thread. This creates a permanent record of the clarification for future reference.
- If you need additional vendor-specific details: Select Add to Follow-Up Questionnaire to queue your question for direct vendor communication.
Step 7: Continue Your Review
Repeat this process for any additional questions that need clarification. You can add multiple questions to your follow-up questionnaire as you work through the vendor summary.
Step 8: Send Questions to the Vendor (If Needed)
Once you've completed your review and added all necessary clarification questions:
- Select Preview/Send Questions from the toolbar
- Review your collected questions before sending, select the recipient and insert a final comment
- Click Send to route the questionnaire with the questions selected to the vendor for their direct response
✅ Best Practices
- Write Clear, Specific Questions: Be detailed in your clarification requests to ensure you receive the most helpful responses. Instead of "Can you explain this?", try "What specific encryption methods are used to protect data at rest?"
- Leverage AI Smart Search First: Always review the Smart Search response before escalating to vendor communication—it may provide the information you need immediately, saving time for both you and the vendor.
- Batch Your Questions: Complete your full vendor review and collect all clarification questions before sending them to the vendor. This minimizes back-and-forth communication and improves efficiency.
- Document Everything: Use the Save as Comment feature to maintain a complete audit trail of all clarifications and responses for future reviews and compliance documentation.
⏭️ Tracking Follow-Up Questions & Vendor Responses
Once your follow-up questionnaire has been sent, Whistic makes it easy to monitor the status of your outstanding questions and review vendor responses when they come in.
Viewing Pending Questions
After your questions are sent to the vendor, a yellow banner will appear at the top of the Vendor Summary reading:
"[#] follow-up question(s) were sent to the vendor and are pending response."
Click View Sent Request to open a detailed view of your outstanding questions, including:
- The question(s) submitted
- The date the request was sent
- The section each question is associated with
- Whether the vendor has responded
Reviewing Vendor Responses
Once the vendor has completed their response, the banner will update to green and read:
"Follow-up question(s) received, and [#] answer(s) were updated by vendor."
Click the inline View Updated Answers link to filter the Vendor Summary and quickly navigate to the questions the vendor has answered as the responses will be filtered down below the color-coded graph.
❓ FAQ
When should I use the Clarification Questions feature?
Use this feature whenever you need additional context about a vendor's assessment response. Common scenarios include needing more technical details about a security control, clarification on implementation timelines, or specifics about third-party dependencies mentioned in their responses.
What happens when AI Smart Search can't answer my question?
If Smart Search cannot find relevant information in the vendor's existing documentation or historical data, you can proceed with adding the question to your vendor follow-up questionnaire for direct vendor response.
Can I edit a question after adding it to the follow-up questionnaire?
Yes, questions can typically be edited before sending the final questionnaire to the vendor. Use the Preview/Send Questions function to review and edit questions before sending.
How long does it take for AI Smart Search to provide an answer?
AI Smart Search provides instant responses by searching through the vendor's existing documentation and historical data. The response appears immediately after you submit your clarification question.
What if the vendor doesn't respond to my clarification questions?
Follow up through your standard vendor communication channels or contact your Whistic administrator for guidance on escalation procedures.
Will vendors be notified every time I ask a clarification question?
No. Vendors are only notified when you actively choose to send questions via the follow-up questionnaire. Questions answered by AI Smart Search and saved as comments do not trigger vendor notifications.
Can I see a history of all clarification questions asked about a vendor?
Yes. All clarification questions saved as comments are stored in the question's comment thread, creating a permanent audit trail for future reference and reviews.
Is there a limit to how many clarification questions I can ask?
There is no limit to the number of clarification questions you can ask using AI Smart Search. However, be mindful when batching questions for vendor communication—focus on essential clarifications that couldn't be answered through existing documentation.