---
sourceDocument: Australia Governance, Risk, and Compliance
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/governance-risk-compliance

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Governance, Risk, and Compliance

ft:clusterId :

    - grc

bundleId :

    - grc

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Exploring Smart Assessment Engine

# Exploring Smart Assessment Engine {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Australia
* 
* Updated March 12, 2026
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 4 minutes to read

Summarize  
![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI  
This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.  

## Summary of Exploring Smart Assessment Engine

The ServiceNow® Smart Assessment Engine (SAE) automates and streamlines assessment workflows within Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) domains such as compliance management, vendor risk, privacy, audit, business continuity, and operational risk management.
SAE addresses challenges of manual assessment processes by reducing inefficiencies, errors, and operational costs.
It provides an intuitive, configurable, and access-controlled platform to design, execute, and manage assessments seamlessly while ensuring compliance and operational efficiency.
Show full answer Show less  
With SAE, organizations can simplify data collection, automate risk analysis, and enforce compliance management through standardized evaluation processes. The engine supports drag-and-drop template design, predefined user roles aligned to typical personas, end-to-end workflow automation, and collaboration features to enhance accountability and decision-making.

## Key Features

* **Assessment Template Management:** Access and manage assessment templates through the Assessment Workspace, including reviewing published/unpublished templates and using the drag-and-drop template designer to create or customize templates with various question types, instructions, and references.
* **Assessment Execution and Response:** Assessors can respond to assigned assessments within a workspace that auto-saves work, supports reassignment, and allows cancellation of unnecessary assessments.
* **Combined Assessment Handling:** Manage multiple assigned assessments in a single view with bulk submission or reassignment capabilities for efficient handling.
* **Legacy Metric Migration:** Migrate existing metric types into SAE templates to leverage previously created assessment designs.
* **Scoring and Automation:** Configure scoring mechanisms at assessment, section, or subsection levels to derive meaningful scores. Automate post-assessment actions based on responses to trigger workflows or other tasks.

## User Roles and Access

* **Assessment Actor:** Responds to and can reassign assigned assessments.
* **Assessment Reader:** Reads and comments on assessments within assigned categories and those they created. Access depends on minimum role requirements defined per template.
* **Assessment Admin:** Full control to create, update, and delete templates and categories; manage assessments including state changes, reassignment, and metric migration.
* **Template Reader:** Reads specific templates based on mapped categories; requires access to those categories.
* **Template Manager:** Creates, reads, and updates templates within authorized categories following similar access rules as template readers.
* **Template Developer:** Holds template admin or manager roles plus developer role to script response automation within assessment questions.

## Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

* Automates and optimizes assessment workflows to reduce manual efforts and errors.
* Enhances compliance and risk management through standardized, configurable assessments.
* Improves operational efficiency by enabling easy template creation, workflow automation, and collaborative assessment handling.
* Supports role-based access control to secure assessment data and streamline user responsibilities.
* Facilitates migration of legacy metrics to modern assessment templates, protecting prior investments.  
The ServiceNow®Smart Assessment Engine (SAE) helps you reduce the manual burden and costs of your assessment processes through automation.

## Smart Assessment Engine {#smart-assessment-engine-cf-explore__section_ccf_d3l_s2c}

In Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) workflows such as compliance management, vendor risk management, privacy management, audit management, business continuity, and operational risk management, organizations face challenges in gathering
input from employees and making informed decisions. Manual processes can be inefficient, time-consuming, and prone to errors, leading to increased operational costs and compliance risks.

SAE is designed to automate and optimize assessment processes, reducing manual efforts and costs. It provides an intuitive, configurable, and access-controlled assessment experience,
enabling organizations to design and execute assessments seamlessly while ensuring compliance and efficiency. SAE is a versatile and business-friendly assessment engine that simplifies data collection, risk analysis, and compliance management. It supports a drag-and-drop template designer for
effortless assessment creation and includes predefined roles to align with standard user personas. SAE ensures end-to-end workflow automation, post-assessment actions, and seamless collaboration.

By implementing SAE, organizations can streamline assessments, enhance accountability, and ensure regulatory compliance while optimizing overall efficiency. It enables organizations to track risks,
maintain compliance, and improve decision-making through standardized evaluation processes.

## Smart Assessment Engine benefits {#smart-assessment-engine-cf-explore__section_fsk_1b5_dyb}

The following table shows the benefits of the Smart Assessment Engine application.
{#smart-assessment-engine-cf-explore__table_gsk_1b5_dyb__entry__3}

| Benefit | Feature | Users |
|-|-|-|
| See an overview of all your assessment template-related information. You can review the published and unpublished assessment templates and access the template designer. | [Accessing templates in the Assessment Workspace](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/6KpZWpi7pv3wab_g9POorQ "You can see all your assessment template-related information on the Assessment Workspace landing page. You can review the published and unpublished assessment templates and create assessment templates by using the Smart Assessment Engine application.") | Template reader \[sn_smart_asmt.template_reader\], Template manager \[sn_smart_asmt.template_manager\], or Assessment admin \[sn_smart_asmt.assessment_admin\] |
| Use the template designer for the following tasks: * Create and customize the assessment templates that support a range of types including Control Attestation and Risk Identification (processes that verify adherence to established controls and identify potential risks). * Set the assessment parameters such as the question types, justifications, and conditional visibility. * Add the instructions, questions, and reference information by using the template designer. {#smart-assessment-engine-cf-explore__ul_qv2_3c3_ccc} | [Using the template designer](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/nZ8WRHKlzQ6F7PyOfkG7EQ "You can create assessment templates and add instructions, questions, and reference information by using the template designer in the Smart Assessment Engine application. Smart assessments can help you to evaluate various situations, aspects, or records.") [Create an assessment template](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/45tyq3w_RJpaU5HF52AWUA "Create an assessment template by using the Smart Assessment Engine application by naming it, specifying its categories, and optionally, specifying the tables that have the records as the assessment target or scope. You can then add questions and other attributes to the template. Alternatively, you can also copy an existing template including all questions, sections, instructions and existing configurations.") [Add instructions and questions to an assessment template](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/oJ0zuZATpn_dGC~zfMNLjA "Add instructions and questions to an assessment template by using the Smart Assessment Engine application. You can use instructions and questions to help gather precise and relevant information from designated responders.") [Add reference information to an assessment template](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bAmcMPVqLeFb2OZyF1FDUw "Add reference information to an assessment template so that assessors can access the information they need while responding to assessments by using the Smart Assessment Engine. With an assessment template, you can minimize the need for external references and can improve the efficiency of the assessment process.") | Template manager \[sn_smart_asmt.template_manager\] or Assessment admin \[sn_smart_asmt.assessment_admin\] |
| Trigger assessments by using the Workflow Studio or scripts in Workflow Studio. | [Triggering assessments](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Mjm2R04z24k6LK3svjvAnQ "You can trigger a Smart Assessment Engine assessment from the Workflow Studio or from a script. With either method, you specify a published assessment template, the assessors who respond, and other optional inputs.") | Flow designer \[flow_designer\] |
| Respond to the assessments and collect the responses from within your workspace. As an assessor, your work is automatically saved, which eliminates the need for manual saving and helps to prevent data loss. You can also reassign the in-progress assessments to another user or cancel the assessments that are no longer needed. | [Responding to assessments](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/unNNf95s5KHm5T70jBPaQA "Use the Smart Assessment Engine application to help assessors complete assessment requests. Track your progress and let the system automatically save your information.") | Assessment actor \[sn_smart_asmt.actor\] |
| Combine multiple assigned assessments into a single, streamlined view. You can manage, submit, or reassign these combined assessments at one time. Use Bulk Submit or Bulk Reassign assessments to handle all the assessments in one action. | [Submit combined assessments](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/J7lNBvGu4SE7UH3IJkTv1g "Combine your Smart Assessment Engine assessments so you can respond to all of them together. You can also configure your responses to replicate automatically across all applicable assessments so you don't need to fill them in manually.") | Assessment actor \[sn_smart_asmt.actor\] |
| Migrate the metric types to the SAE assessment templates to use the assessment designs that you already created. | [Migrate a legacy metric type to an assessment template](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/D8KQZvlVbZAf_i4AVqdKSQ "Migrate an existing metric type to an SAE assessment template. You can leverage the existing assessment designs while using Smart Assessment Engine.") | Assessment admin \[sn_smart_asmt.assessment_admin\] |
| Set up scoring for your assessment responses to calculate meaningful scores at the assessment, section, or subsection level. | [Scoring assessments](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/N35hEm9waeS14VJJHB9CqQ "Scoring in Smart Assessment Engine is a systematic way to evaluate responses to various questions within an assessment. By attributing scores to answers, you can translate qualitative responses into quantitative data, offering a measurable and comparable outcome for each assessment.") | sn_smart_asmt.template_manager and sn_smart_asmt.assessment_admin |
| Automate actions based on assessment responses. These actions use the responses from an assessment to automate tasks | [Post-assessment automations](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/C9EsQ0ZXG5cMPTavcGunXg "Post-assessment automations, also known as post-assessment actions, in Smart Assessment Engine are actions that happen automatically after an assessment is complete. These actions use the responses from an assessment to automate tasks. Using action sets, automated actions, trigger conditions, and evaluation criteria, post-assessment actions can help your assessments be efficient, consistent, accurate, and scalable.") | sn_smart_asmt.assessment_admin or sn_smart_asmt.template_manager and sn_smart_imp_auto.automation_creator |
[ ]

{#smart-assessment-engine-cf-explore__table_gsk_1b5_dyb}

## Roles of SAE users {#smart-assessment-engine-cf-explore__section_lhf_fwh_5xb}

Assessment actor
:   A user with the assessment actor \[sn_smart_asmt.actor\] role can respond to the assessments that are assigned to them. They can also reassign these assessments.

Assessment reader
:   A user with the assessment reader \[sn_smart_asmt.assessment_reader\] role can read the assessments within the categories that they're assigned to. Additionally, they can read and comment on the assessments they created, and
    view and comment on the assessments that are generated from those templates.  
    Note:  
    The Assessment reader role field in the template determines the minimum user role that is required to view and comment on assessments. Only users with the specified role and the Assessment reader \[sn_smart_asmt.assessment_reader\] role can access the assessments that are generated from this template.

Assessment Admin
:   A user with the assessment admin \[sn_smart_asmt.assessment_admin\] role can create, view, update, and delete both template categories and assessment templates. Additionally, the user with this role can view all the assessments,
    modify their states, reassign the assessments, and migrate the existing metric types to new assessment templates.

Template reader
:   A user with the template reader \[sn_smart_asmt.template_reader\] role can read specific assessment templates that are based on the categories mapped to the templates.  
    Note:  
    Each template must be mapped to one or more template category. A template reader must have this role to view the templates that are mapped with that category. A template reader must be able to access a template category to view the template.

Template Manager
:   A user with the template manager \[sn_smart_asmt.template_manager\] role can read, write, or create specific assessment templates that are based on the categories that are mapped to these templates. Their access to the template
    categories during the creation process is governed by the same rules that apply to the template readers.

Template Developer
:   A user with the template admin or template manager role and template \[sn_smart_asmt.developer\] role can read, write, and create the script for response automation in assessment questions.

For more information, see [Roles installed in Smart Assessment Engine](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/LDenk~QpkhHSlsvfSq4XmQ "Roles determine the permissions and access in the Smart Assessment Engine application.").