Purpose and boundaries
This is an awareness and decision-support assessment. It is not an audit, certification, legal opinion, or formal compliance determination. The score is designed to help leadership identify where deeper review, evidence, or remediation is warranted.
Scoring model
- Each question is scored from 0–4. The highest score represents a formalized, implemented, tested, and evidenced state.
- Questions are assigned to governance domains. Each domain score is the ratio of earned points to available points in that domain.
- Domain scores are combined into the overall score using the domain weights shown below.
- “Not sure” answers are treated as an uncertainty signal and may apply a modest uncertainty adjustment.
- Some foundational questions have critical rules. If a critical foundation is absent, the overall score can be capped so a high average does not hide material risk.
Domain weights
Processing records, data flows, and ownership.
Risk-appropriate technical and organizational controls.
Processor governance and international transfers.
Rights, DPIA, retention, and change governance.
Detection, investigation, decision, and evidence.
Critical score rules
- Security measures are not clearly risk-based or evidenced. (maximum score: 55)
- Breach triage and decision ownership may be too slow or unclear. (maximum score: 60)
How to use the result
Review the three lowest domains, critical flags, and evidence checklist together. The objective is not to generate a high score; it is to make missing decisions, owners, and evidence visible. When a major customer, audit, regulatory, or incident deadline exists, the self-assessment should be followed by independent validation.