Findings

A finding documents a deviation, observation, or risk identified during an audit. Findings are linked to a specific question response in the audit’s question catalog and can have action items and file attachments.

Creating a Finding

Findings can only be created when an audit is In Progress.

1. Open the audit and navigate to the Question Responses section
2. Open the question response where you identified an issue
3. In the response, choose Add Finding
4. Fill in:
   • Title — brief summary of what was found
   • Category — classifies the finding type (configured in Master Data)
   • Severity — ISO 9001 severity classification (see below)
   • Status — current finding status (configured in Master Data)
   • Description — detailed explanation of the finding
   • Root Cause — analysis of why the deviation occurred
   • ISO Clause — reference to the relevant ISO standard clause (if applicable)
   • Requirement Reference — reference to internal requirement or standard
   • Responsible Person — person accountable for addressing this finding
   • Due Date — deadline for resolution

Finding Severity (ISO 9001:2015)

qportal uses an ISO 9001-aligned four-level severity classification:

Severity	Meaning
Conform	No deviation found; requirement is fully met
Observation	Minor issue or improvement potential; not yet a nonconformity
Minor Nonconformity	Isolated failure to meet a requirement; limited impact
Major Nonconformity	Systematic failure to meet a requirement; significant impact on the quality system

The severity is separate from finding categories — your Master Data Admin configures categories as an additional classification layer (e.g. Process, Documentation, Infrastructure).

Attachments

You can attach evidence files (photos, documents, records) directly to a finding using the Attachments section. These serve as audit evidence for the identified deviation.

Assigning Action Items

From a finding, you can create action items to track corrective measures:

1. In the finding, open the Action Items tab
2. Choose Create Action Item
3. Fill in the title, responsible person, due date, and optionally a description and priority

The action item appears in the Action Items module for the assigned person.

Finding Status

Finding statuses are configured by your Master Data Admin and represent the current state of the finding within your organisation’s process (e.g. Open, Under Review, Closed). They are independent from the parent audit status.

Once the parent audit is Completed or Findings Published, findings are read-only.

Change History

All changes to findings — including status changes, field edits, and who made them — are tracked automatically and visible in the Change History section at the bottom of each finding.