Controls
Controls checks are a special category of Policy Checks.
Unlike traditional checks that validate a single configuration object or state of your app, Controls evaluate whether a governance process is operating effectively over time.
Each Control represents a defined governance objective — for example:
GOV_0001 – Change Management
Controls are evaluated continuously based on audit events and lifecycle activity within your apps and environments.
Where standard policy checks answer:
“Is this specific condition true?”
Controls answer:
“Is this governance process functioning correctly and consistently?”
How Controls Work
Each Control is evaluated based on two configurable dimensions:
Coverage Profile
Environment Scope
Together, these determine how rigorously the control is assessed and where it applies.
Coverage Profile
A Coverage Profile defines how a specific control is evaluated within AppControl.
For each control (such as GOV_0001 – Change Management), you select one Coverage Profile. The selected profile determines:
Which audit events are required as evidence
What governance conditions must be met
How strictly the control is evaluated
Coverage Profiles allow you to align the control with your required level of assurance — from basic traceability to strict separation-of-duties enforcement.
In other words:
The control defines what must be governed. The coverage profile defines how rigorously it must be evidenced.
How Coverage Profiles Are Evaluated
When a Coverage Profile is selected, AppControl continuously evaluates compliance by analyzing audit events associated with the app and its environments.
Evaluation happens in three layers:
1. Evidence Presence
AppControl verifies that all required evidence event types defined in the profile are present.
Example:
If
CHANGE_APPROVEDis required, deployments without approval evidence will cause the control to fail.
2. Event Relationships
Some profiles require specific relationships between events, not just their existence.
Examples:
A revision change must be linked to a deployment.
A deployment must be associated with an approval.
A configuration change must be linked to a release.
A change review must be associated with the release it governs.
If required relationships are missing, the control will not meet the selected Coverage Profile.
3. Policy Validation
For stricter profiles, AppControl evaluates governance conditions such as:
Approval before deployment
Rollback registration
Separation of duties (review evidence independent of approval)
These checks are executed automatically through Compliance Policies that analyze the underlying audit events.
Compliance Outcome
Based on the evaluation, AppControl determines whether the control is:
Compliant — All required evidence and relationships are present
Non-Compliant — Required governance conditions are not met
The stricter the Coverage Profile, the more evidence and governance validation is required.
Environment Scope
Each Control also includes an Environment Scope setting.
Environment Scope defines which types of environments are evaluated for compliance with the selected Coverage Profile.
For example, you may choose to apply a control to:
Production only
Production and Acceptance
All environments
This allows you to:
Enforce stricter governance in Production
Apply lighter requirements in Development
Align control enforcement with risk level
Compliance is evaluated only for environments included in the defined scope.
Continuous Evaluation
Controls are not evaluated once — they are evaluated continuously.
As new audit events are generated (deployments, approvals, configuration changes, reviews, rollbacks, etc.), AppControl automatically re-evaluates the control against the selected Coverage Profile and Environment Scope.
This enables:
Continuous compliance monitoring
Immediate visibility into control failures
Ongoing assurance rather than periodic assessment
Summary
Controls introduce a structured, evidence-driven way to monitor governance processes across your Mendix landscape.
Each Control:
Defines a governance objective
Uses a Coverage Profile to define required evidence and rigor
Uses Environment Scope to define where it applies
Is continuously evaluated based on audit events
Together, this provides a configurable and transparent foundation for continuous security, quality, and compliance within AppControl.
Last updated