Vendor Summary: Resolving Unknown Answers

Table of Contents

• Summary
• Option 1: Retry Errors and Unknowns
• Option 2: Send Clarifying Questions to the Vendor
• FAQ

Summary

After running a Vendor Summary, some questions may come back with an "Unknown" status — meaning Whistic's AI was unable to find a clear answer within the available documentation and/or questionnaires provided. This doesn't mean the review is complete; it means there's an opportunity to fill those gaps before finalizing your assessment.

There are two recommended approaches depending on whether you have additional documentation available:

• Retry Errors and Unknowns — if you have new or supplemental documentation to add
• Send a Follow-up Questionnaire — if you don't have additional documentation and need the vendor to respond directly

🔄 Option 1: Retry Errors and Unknowns

If you have additional documentation that may answer the unknown questions, you can upload it and trigger a re-scan without losing any of your existing summary data, notes, or answers.

1. Upload the new documentation to the vendor's assessment in Whistic (must be in the same assessment folder as the vendor summary, do not start a new assessment)
2. Re-open the Vendor Summary
3. Click the Actions button in the top right corner of the summary
4. Select Retry Errors and Unknowns from the dropdown
5. Whistic will re-analyse available sources and attempt to fill in the gaps where the new documentation provides answers

Note: Retrying errors and unknowns does not wipe your existing summary nor does it use a vendor summary license. All previously populated answers, notes, and information are preserved — only the unknown fields are re-evaluated.

📤 Option 2: Send Follow-Up Questions to the Vendor

If you don't have additional documentation to upload, you can send the unknown questions directly to the vendor for them to answer.

1. In the Vendor Summary, use the filter to display only questions with an Unknown status
2. Select the checkboxes next to the questions you want to send
3. This will generate a focused questionnaire containing only the unknown questions and send it to the vendor
4. The vendor will receive a notification and can respond directly within Whistic

Note: You can queue multiple unknown questions at once using the filter and bulk checkbox selection, rather than sending them one at a time.

❓ FAQ

What does "Unknown" mean in a Vendor Summary?

"Unknown" means Whistic's AI was unable to find a clear answer to that question within the documentation currently attached to the assessment. It does not necessarily mean the vendor lacks a control — it may simply mean the answer wasn't captured in the available sources.

Will retrying errors and unknowns overwrite my existing summary?

No. The Retry Errors and Unknowns option only re-evaluates questions that returned an error or unknown status. All existing answers, notes, and populated fields are preserved.

When should I send follow-up questions vs. send clarifying questions?

If you have access to an existing answers we recommend using the clarifying questions option.

Can I do both — retry and send follow-ups?

Yes. You may want to retry with new documentation first, and then send follow up questions for any questions that remain unknown after the re-scan.