Assessment Setup: Custom Questionnaires

Custom questionnaires can be used in assessments as artifacts and shared with vendors or internally, depending on your configuration.

This feature enables you to create categories and questions, configure scoring and logic, validate your setup, preview the experience, and publish questionnaires for use in assessments.

Instructions

Accessing Custom Questionnaires

1. Navigate to VRM.
2. Go to Assessment Setup.
3. Select Custom Questionnaires.
4. Click Create Questionnaire.

You can create a questionnaire from scratch or import questions using a CSV file. 

Example Questionnaires

• The CSV file can simply contain a list of questions: click here for an example
• Or the CSV file can be a full questionnaire: click here for an example

Building a Questionnaire

Step 1: Define Questionnaire Details

Provide the following:

• Questionnaire Name – The name displayed in VRM and when selecting the questionnaire for an assessment.
• Internal Questionnaire – Select this option to create an internal questionnaire. Internal questionnaires are visible only to users within your organization and are not shared with vendors.
• Locking Enabled – When enabled, vendor responses can be locked after submission so they cannot be edited.
• Header and Footer – Add custom text that will appear at the top (header) and bottom (footer) of the questionnaire. This can be used for instructions, legal disclaimers, or additional context for respondents.

Step 2: Create Categories

Categories organize your questionnaire into logical sections displayed on the left side of the screen.

To add a category:

1. Click Add Category.
2. Enter a Category Name.

All questions must be assigned to a category, and each category must contain at least one question.

Step 3: Add and Configure Questions

Within each category, click Add Question and complete the required fields.

Question ID *

Add a unique Question ID. This field is not displayed to vendors and is used for internal reference.

Question *

The prompt shown to the respondent.

Instruction (optional)

The Instruction field allows you to provide guidance on how the vendor should answer the question. When used, it appears automatically in a lighter font beneath the main question.

Instructions are particularly valuable because they:

• Clarify the intent of the question and reduce ambiguity
• Help vendors better understand what is being asked
• Provide additional explanation of answer options
• Offer examples or context to improve response quality

Question Type *

This required dropdown defines the format of the answer options vendors will use to respond. Each Question Type assigns weights to responses, which factor into how the questionnaire is scored.

There are multiple prebuilt Question Types available. Examples include:

• Yes/No/NA – Yes and NA receive weights of 100.
• Yes/No/NA – No is Good – No and NA receive weights of 100.
• Yes/No/NA – Credit All – All answers receive a weight of 100.
• Yes/No/Partially – Yes = 100, No = 0, Partially = 50.
• Yes/No – Yes receives a weight of 100.
• Yes/No – No is Good – No receives a weight of 100.
• Yes/No – Credit All – All answers receive a weight of 100.
• Text – Allows vendors to provide a text-based response.
• Date
• Percentage
• Number

Custom Question Types

You can create custom Question Types to support more tailored response formats. When creating a custom Question Type, define:

• Name - When naming a custom Question Type, avoid using the question itself as the name. Questions may evolve over time, and reusable value sets make it easier to maintain consistency across questionnaires. Always assign appropriate weights to each answer option to ensure accurate scoring.
• Type
  • Multiple select – Multiple options can be selected at the same time.
  • Multiple choice – Only one option can be selected, ensuring a single response.
• Answer Options (Values and Weights) - For each question, define:
  • Answer Value – The text shown to the respondent.
  • Answer Weight – A numeric value between 0 and 100 assigned to that answer.

You must provide at least one answer value, and each value must have a corresponding weight. These weights are used in questionnaire scoring.

Answer Options and Weights

Displays a preview of the answer options and their respective weights for the selected Question Type.

Priority *

This required dropdown reflects the relative importance of the question in the overall scoring. Each option translates to a numeric value used in the questionnaire scoring formula.

Available values:

• None = 0
• Low = 1
• Medium = 2
• High = 3
• Critical = 4

Text, Number, Percentage, and Date question types must have a Priority of None, as they are not scored.

For more information on scoring calculations, see Calculating Questionnaire Scores.

Mapped Risk Vectors (optional)

You can map Bitsight risk vectors to a question. This brings relevant risk vector information into the questionnaire, providing assessors with additional insights to help validate vendor responses. A Total Risk Monitoring subscription is required to access this data.

Comments Required (optional)

When enabled, a comment is required for the response to be considered complete.

Document Required (optional)

When enabled, a document upload is required for the response to be considered complete.

Parent and Subquestions

You can configure conditional logic so that subquestions appear only when specific answers are selected in a parent question.

To configure conditional logic:

1. Create the parent question.
2. Add the subquestion within the same category.
3. Select the triggering answer(s) that will display the subquestion.

Importing Questions via CSV

You may upload a CSV file to import multiple questions at once. Uploading a CSV file will override all previously created questions and configurations in the questionnaire.

After uploading:

• The system validates required fields and formatting.
• Any errors are displayed for correction.
• Imported questions can be edited directly in the interface.

All configuration and validation occurs within the UI before publishing.

Validation

The interface includes built-in validation to ensure questionnaire accuracy and completeness. Validation checks include:

• Missing required fields
• Invalid priority values
• Missing answer weights for scored questions
• Invalid conditional logic configurations

All validation errors must be resolved before publishing.

Previewing the Questionnaire

Use Preview to simulate the respondent experience.

The preview allows you to:

• Navigate categories
• Test conditional logic
• Confirm required fields
• Review scoring behavior

For more information on how questionnaire scoring works, see Calculating Questionnaire Scores.

Publishing the Questionnaire

When you are ready to make the questionnaire available for use in assessments, click Publish. Once published, the questionnaire can be added as an artifact to assessments.

If updates are needed after publishing, you may edit or delete the questionnaire only if no vendor responses are associated with it. Once vendor responses have been submitted, the Delete option is disabled.

To make changes after responses exist:

1. Download the questionnaire.
2. Create a new questionnaire using the downloaded file.
3. Apply the necessary updates.
4. Publish the revised version as a new questionnaire.

Managing Questionnaires

• Draft questionnaires can be edited or deleted at any time.
• Published questionnaires can be edited or deleted only if no responses have been submitted.
• If responses are associated with a questionnaire, create a new version to implement changes.

Cloning the Questionnaire

You can quickly create variations by cloning any custom questionnaire. 

1. Select a questionnaire
2. Choose clone
3. A new “Copy - <QuestionnaireName>” will appear in your list. 

This duplicate retains all question, categories, and structure from the original, which you can then customize as needed.

Want to learn more?

• Calculating Questionnaire Scores 
• Vendor Profile: Internal Questionnaires