Running a methodology in the cockpit

The three panels

Open the engagement's cockpit. It is a three-panel screen: the methodology navigator on the left (the adopted framework's steps and techniques, in execution order), the technique detail in the centre, and the execution status control on the right. You work down the navigator, technique by technique.

Working a technique

Select a technique and the centre panel shows what it is for, its procedure, the evidence it expects and its remediation guidance. You perform the test against the asset in scope, following the procedure. This is the actual work; the cockpit is there to keep it ordered and to make sure nothing in the methodology is silently skipped.

Recording coverage

On the right, record the outcome as coverage for that technique against that asset: tested with no finding, tested with a finding, not applicable, or not tested. Marking something not applicable or not tested other than by default asks for a reason, so a gap in coverage is always explained. Coverage is what the engagement's progress is measured against, and what an honest report can state you actually checked.

From coverage to a finding

When a technique turns up an issue, you record it as a finding. You can create it from the cockpit as you work. The next step covers writing it up: recording a finding with evidence.