LLMResponse CM.L2-3.4.1.d

For assessment objective "[d] a system inventory is established," I'll provide rankings and prioritization based on the CMMC Assessment Guide information.

Priority of Assessment Approaches

For verifying that a system inventory has been established, I recommend prioritizing the assessment approaches as follows:

1. **Examine (highest priority)** - This should be your primary approach since system inventories are documented assets that need to be reviewed directly. Examining the actual inventory documentation provides the most direct evidence that an inventory exists.

2. **Test (medium priority)** - For this objective, testing can be particularly valuable as it can verify that inventory management mechanisms are in place and functioning. Testing could involve reviewing inventory databases, management systems, or automated discovery tools.

3. **Interview (supportive priority)** - Interviews with personnel responsible for establishing and maintaining the system inventory can provide context about how the inventory was created and what it contains, but this is less direct evidence than examining the actual inventory.

Ranking of Evidence Types

For this specific assessment objective, I would rank the evidence types as follows:

1. **Documents (highest value)** - Formal inventory documentation is the most direct evidence that a system inventory has been established. This includes inventory lists, asset databases, and formal records of system components.

2. **Artifacts (high value)** - Outputs from inventory management systems or tools that show established inventory records.

3. **Screen Share (medium-high value)** - Live observation of inventory management systems, configuration management databases, or asset tracking tools can provide strong evidence that an inventory exists.

4. **Physical Review (medium value)** - For hardware components, a physical review can confirm that physical assets match inventory records, though this alone doesn't demonstrate a complete system inventory is established.

Key Assessment Objects to Focus On

When collecting evidence for this assessment objective, prioritize these assessment objects:

- System inventory records - Configuration management plan sections describing inventory requirements - System security plan sections about inventory management - Asset management databases or tools - Output reports from automated inventory discovery tools - Inventory naming conventions and categorization schemes

The key for this assessment objective is demonstrating that a formal, comprehensive inventory exists—not just that you know what assets you have. Your evidence should show a structured approach to identifying and documenting system components.

Remember that this objective focuses specifically on establishing an inventory, while objective [f] addresses maintaining it over time. Focus your evidence collection on showing that a complete initial inventory has been created rather than on ongoing maintenance processes.