Bulk control operations

Overview

Bulk control operations allow you to perform AI-powered actions across all controls in a compliance project at once. Instead of manually updating each control individually, you can generate descriptions and sub-controls for your entire project with a single click.

Available Operations

Generate New Descriptions (Safe)

• Creates AI descriptions only for controls that don't have them yet

• Does not overwrite existing content

Regenerate All Descriptions (Destructive)

• Rewrites AI descriptions for all controls

• Replaces existing descriptions

Generate Sub-controls (Destructive)

• Breaks down parent controls into detailed sub-controls

• Creates new sub-control records

Accessing Bulk Operations

1. Navigate to your compliance project

2. Click the Actions dropdown in the top-right corner

3. Look for the Bulk Operations section

Generate New Descriptions (Safe)

This operation generates AI-powered descriptions only for controls that haven't been processed yet. It's completely safe and won't overwrite any existing work.

When to Use

• After importing a new framework with many controls

• When you've added new controls manually

• As a first pass to populate empty control descriptions

How It Works

1. Click Generate New Descriptions (X) where X shows the number of eligible controls

2. The operation starts immediately (no confirmation needed)

3. Each control is processed individually in the background

4. Progress is tracked automatically

What Gets Processed

Only controls meeting ALL these criteria:

• Parent controls (not sub-controls)

• Not linked to another control

• No previous AI-generated descriptions

Regenerate All Descriptions (Destructive)

This operation regenerates AI descriptions for ALL parent controls, replacing any existing descriptions.

When to Use

• After significantly updating your project description or context

• When you want fresher, more relevant descriptions

• After changing your company profile that affects control context

Warning

⚠️ This will overwrite existing AI-generated descriptions. If you only need descriptions for new controls, use "Generate New Descriptions" instead.

How It Works

1. Click Regenerate All Descriptions

2. Read the confirmation warning carefully

3. Click OK to proceed or Cancel to abort

4. All parent controls are queued for processing

5. Progress is tracked automatically

Generate Sub-controls

This operation breaks down parent controls into more detailed, actionable sub-controls using AI analysis.

When to Use

• When your framework controls are too broad to implement directly

• To create a more detailed compliance checklist

• When preparing for detailed implementation tracking

Prerequisites

• Sub-controls must be enabled for your project

• Controls must have descriptions (run description generation first)

• Controls must not already have sub-controls

Warning

⚠️ Wait for description generation to complete first. Better descriptions lead to better sub-control suggestions.

How It Works

1. Click Generate All Sub-controls

2. Read the confirmation warning carefully

3. Click OK to proceed

4. Each eligible control is analyzed and broken down

5. Sub-controls are created automatically

What Gets Processed

Only controls meeting ALL these criteria:

• Parent controls (not already a sub-control)

• Not linked to another control

• Don't already have sub-controls

• Eligible for breakdown (based on control type)

Progress Tracking

All bulk operations run in the background, allowing you to continue working while they process.

Checking Progress

• The number of pending controls is shown in the button label

• You can refresh the page to see updated counts

• Each control shows its processing status in the control list

Status Indicators

Pending - Queued for processing

In Progress - Currently being processed

Completed - Successfully processed

Failed - Error occurred (see control for details)

Skipped - Not eligible for this operation

If Something Fails

• Individual control failures don't stop other controls from processing

• Failed controls can be retried individually from the control detail page

• Check the control's metadata for error details

Best Practices

Recommended Order of Operations

1. First: Generate New Descriptions (safe, adds value immediately)

2. Review: Check a few generated descriptions for quality

3. Then: Generate Sub-controls (if needed)

4. Later: Regenerate All Descriptions only if context has significantly changed

Tips for Better Results

• Complete your project profile before generating descriptions - the AI uses this context

• Answer onboarding questions thoroughly - they inform the AI about your business

• Wait between operations - don't start sub-control generation while descriptions are still processing

• Review samples - check a few results before relying on bulk output

When NOT to Use Bulk Operations

• If you've manually customized control descriptions you want to keep

• If you only need to update a few specific controls

• If you're unsure about the operation's impact

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do bulk operations take?

Processing time depends on the number of controls. Each control takes a few seconds to process. A project with 100 controls might take 5-10 minutes to complete.

Can I cancel a bulk operation?

Once started, bulk operations cannot be cancelled. However, you can manually revert individual controls if needed.

Will this affect my evidence or documents?

No. Bulk operations only affect control descriptions and sub-controls. Evidence, documents, and other attachments remain unchanged.

What happens if I close the browser?

Operations continue in the background. You can safely close the browser and check progress later.

Can I run multiple bulk operations at once?

It's not recommended. Wait for one operation to complete before starting another to ensure the best results.

Why is "Generate New Descriptions" not showing?

This button only appears when there are eligible controls (controls without previous AI descriptions). If all controls already have descriptions, the button won't be displayed.

Why can't I generate sub-controls?

Sub-control generation requires:

• Sub-controls to be enabled in project settings

• Controls to have descriptions

• Controls to not already have sub-controls

Troubleshooting

"No eligible controls found"

For descriptions: All controls already have AI-generated descriptions. Use "Regenerate All" if you want to refresh them.

For sub-controls: Either sub-controls aren't enabled, all eligible controls already have sub-controls, or controls don't have descriptions yet.

Some controls show "Skipped"

Controls are skipped when they don't meet the criteria for the operation. This is normal for:

• Sub-controls (only parent controls are processed)

• Linked controls

• Controls already processed (for safe operations)

Processing seems stuck

• Refresh the page to get the latest status

• Check if Sidekiq background jobs are running (admin only)

• Individual controls may have failed - check control details

Related Features

• Individual Control Description Regeneration - Update a single control's description from the control detail page

• Control Breakdown - Manually break down a single control into sub-controls

• Project Context - Update your project description to improve AI-generated content