METHODOLOGY

Every conclusion carries its evidence state and assessment boundary.

SCOUTz records what it checked, when it checked it, which source supported the result, and whether missing coverage limits the conclusion.

INDEPENDENT DISCOVERY

Compare what was recorded with what can be independently supported.

PSA, RMM, and specialist tools remain valuable. SCOUTz discovers, observes, normalizes, correlates, and asks what the combined evidence actually supports.

PSAWhat was recorded
RMMWhat is managed
SECURITY TOOLSWhat each product sees
SCOUTzDISCOVEROBSERVENORMALIZECORRELATECOMPARE
SUPPORTED CONCLUSIONCondition · evidence · boundary · unknowns · outcome

ASSESSMENT BOUNDARY

A focused vendor review and a client assessment answer different questions.

Specialist reviews are not dishonest; they were designed for a narrower job. SCOUTz begins with the company and leaves the implementation choice with the MSP.

SPECIALIZED VENDOR ASSESSMENT

01

CATEGORY

The vendor's specialty

02

SCANNER

Evidence in that boundary

03

FINDINGS

Needs related to that capability

04

SOLUTION

The vendor's implementation

SCOUTz CLIENT ASSESSMENT

01

COMPANY

Start with the organization

02

DISCOVERY

Gather supported evidence

03

CONDITION

Name what needs attention

04

OUTCOME

Define what better means

05

MSP CHOOSES

Product, service, process, project—or nothing

FINDINGWeak authentication coverage
SCOUTz ANSWERSWho is affected? Why does it matter? What supports it? What should change? How can it be verified?
MSP DECIDESExisting product · configuration · new product · process · project · nothing

EVIDENCE STATES

Unknown is not clean—and confidence is not theater.

These are distinct evidence states, not a mathematically linear score ladder.

01

VERIFIED

Directly supported or completed validation

02

OBSERVED

Seen in the named source at the recorded time

03

INFERRED

Supported, but not directly proven

04

POSSIBLE

Plausible and still needs investigation

05

UNKNOWN

The source cannot establish the state

06

UNREADABLE

The source could not be read

PROVIDER RETURNS 403NOT ASSESSEDNO RISK FOUND
ILLUSTRATIVE · EVIDENCE STATEILLUSTRATIVE
Illustrative finding detail showing evidence state, coverage, source, observation time, and next investigation
Vendor neutrality is part of finding truth.

A finding describes the condition, evidence, affected object, unknowns, and recommended outcome—not an automatic instruction to buy Vendor X. Any future vendor recommendation must be explicit, transparent, clearly separate from the underlying finding, and unable to change what the evidence says.

Vendor assessment or client assessment? →

VERIFIED

Directly supported by a named authoritative source or completed validation.

OBSERVED

Seen by SCOUTz from the disclosed source at the recorded time.

INFERRED

Supported by evidence, but not directly proven by the available source.

POSSIBLE

A plausible condition or opportunity that still requires investigation.

UNKNOWN

The available evidence cannot establish the state. Unknown is not clean.

UNREADABLE

The source could not be read because of availability, format, access, or permission.

Assessment coverage is separate from the finding result.

ASSESSED · PARTIAL · NOT_ASSESSED · PERMISSION_LIMITED · LICENSE_LIMITED. A permission- or license-limited source never becomes a clean score by omission.

DOMAIN BOUNDARY

Public signals only.

DNS, email authentication, HTTPS, certificates, headers, subdomains, exposed services, and related external evidence. No proof of internal controls, recovery, people, or process.

MICROSOFT 365 BOUNDARY

Customer-approved configuration and metadata.

Supported identity, application, security, and managed-device context. No mail, files, chats, documents, prompts, or automatic changes.

The access method is part of the evidence context.

A public observation and an authorized tenant record can support different kinds of claims. Customer authorization can strengthen the available source, but it never removes coverage, permission, license, provider, or readability limits.

Why permission follows the question →
QUESTION

Define the answer needed.

Start with the business or technical question instead of the broadest API permission available.

EVIDENCE

Choose the necessary source.

Use the least intrusive source that can responsibly support the answer.

ACCESS

Explain and authorize.

If deeper evidence is necessary, state the purpose and boundary before collection begins.

Are the SCOUTz screenshots real?

Every image labeled Real Product is captured from the working application and anonymized. Every designed explanation is labeled Illustrative. We do not use AI-generated interfaces as evidence that a feature exists.

Read the authenticity standard →

SCOUTz OPEN BETA

Point SCOUTz at the question. Walk in with a defensible answer.

Bring a real MSP workflow and see how SCOUTz turns evidence into the next defensible action. The review runs without an agent or install and never changes configuration automatically.

SCOUTz prepares the conversation. The relationship and the sale stay yours.