compliance-checklist-generation

name	compliance-checklist-generation
description	Generate compliance checklists for SOC2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and GDPR with gap analysis and remediation priorities.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"community","version":"1.0"}

Compliance Checklist Generation

Create structured, actionable compliance checklists for major regulatory frameworks including SOC2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and GDPR. This skill maps controls to requirements, assesses readiness against each control, identifies gaps, and produces prioritized remediation plans. Output includes status tracking, evidence requirements, and effort estimates for each control item.

Workflow

1. Identify Applicable Frameworks — Determine which compliance frameworks apply based on the business type, data handled, customer requirements, and geographic reach. A healthcare SaaS needs HIPAA. A company processing credit cards needs PCI-DSS. Enterprise B2B SaaS customers almost universally request SOC2. Serving EU users triggers GDPR. Multiple frameworks often overlap — identify shared controls to reduce duplicate effort.

2. Map Controls to Requirements — Break each framework into its constituent control categories and individual requirements. For SOC2, map across the five Trust Services Criteria (Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, Privacy). For HIPAA, cover Administrative, Physical, and Technical Safeguards. For PCI-DSS, address all 12 requirement families. For GDPR, map to Articles 5-49 covering principles, rights, and obligations.

3. Assess Current State — For each control, evaluate the current implementation status: Implemented (evidence exists), Partially Implemented (control exists but has gaps), Not Implemented (no control in place), or Not Applicable (with documented justification). Where possible, reference existing documentation, tool configurations, or process artifacts as evidence.

4. Generate Checklist with Status and Gaps — Produce a structured checklist organized by control category, with each item showing: the requirement description, current status, evidence needed, gap description (if any), and remediation effort estimate (hours/days). Include a summary dashboard showing overall readiness percentage per category.

5. Prioritize Remediation — Rank gaps by a combination of risk severity, audit impact, implementation effort, and shared coverage across frameworks. Quick wins (high impact, low effort) should be prioritized first. Group related remediation items that can be addressed together, such as implementing a single logging solution that satisfies SOC2, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS log requirements simultaneously.

Usage

Specify which framework(s) you need, your business type, current security posture, and any upcoming audit deadlines. The more context about existing controls, the more accurate the gap analysis.

Example prompt:

Generate a SOC2 Type II readiness checklist for our Series A startup. We're a B2B SaaS running on AWS. We use GitHub for code, Datadog for monitoring, and have about 20 employees. We need to be audit-ready in 6 months.

Examples

Example 1: SOC2 Type II Readiness for a Startup

Input: 20-person B2B SaaS startup on AWS. Uses GitHub, Datadog, Google Workspace, Slack. No formal security program yet. SOC2 audit in 6 months.

Output:

Readiness Summary: 34% ready (estimated)

Category	Controls	Implemented	Partial	Missing	Readiness
Access Control	12	3	4	5	28%
Change Management	8	5	2	1	63%
Incident Response	6	0	1	5	8%
Risk Assessment	5	0	0	5	0%
Monitoring & Logging	7	4	2	1	57%
Vendor Management	4	0	1	3	13%
HR & Security Awareness	6	1	2	3	17%

Sample Controls (Access Control category):

#	Requirement	Status	Evidence Needed	Gap / Action	Effort
AC-1	MFA enforced for all production systems	Partial	AWS IAM policy screenshots, IdP config	MFA enabled for AWS console but not for SSH access to EC2 instances. Enable MFA for all access paths.	2 days
AC-2	Role-based access control with least privilege	Missing	IAM role definitions, access matrix	No formal RBAC model. Define roles, map to AWS IAM policies, GitHub teams, and Google Workspace groups.	5 days
AC-3	Quarterly access reviews	Missing	Access review records, approval logs	No process exists. Implement quarterly reviews of all system access with manager sign-off. Tool recommendation: Vanta or Drata for automated tracking.	3 days
AC-4	Offboarding removes access within 24 hours	Partial	Offboarding checklist, deprovisioning logs	Ad hoc process exists but not documented. Formalize checklist covering all systems, automate via identity provider where possible.	2 days

Priority Remediation (Month 1): Risk assessment (required foundation for all other controls), MFA enforcement across all systems, formal access control policy document, incident response plan draft.

Example 2: GDPR Compliance for E-Commerce

Input: EU-based e-commerce site selling consumer electronics. Collects name, address, email, payment data, browsing behavior. Uses Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, Mailchimp for email marketing. Ships to all EU countries.

Output:

Readiness Summary: 42% ready (estimated)

GDPR Area	Requirements	Met	Gaps	Readiness
Lawful Basis & Consent	8	3	5	38%
Data Subject Rights	7	2	5	29%
Data Processing Records	4	1	3	25%
International Transfers	3	1	2	33%
Security Measures	6	4	2	67%
Breach Notification	3	1	2	33%
DPO & Governance	4	2	2	50%

Sample Controls (Data Subject Rights):

#	Requirement	Status	Gap / Action	Effort
DSR-1	Right of access (Art. 15) — respond within 30 days	Missing	No automated process to compile all data held about a user. Implement data export from database, Google Analytics, Mailchimp. Build internal tool or use privacy management platform.	5 days
DSR-2	Right to erasure (Art. 17) — delete on request	Partial	Can delete from main database but not from analytics, backups, or Mailchimp. Map all data stores and implement deletion cascade across all systems.	4 days
DSR-3	Right to portability (Art. 20) — machine-readable export	Missing	No export functionality. Build JSON/CSV export endpoint for user data.	3 days
DSR-4	Cookie consent with granular opt-in	Partial	Cookie banner exists but uses pre-ticked boxes (non-compliant). Replace with compliant CMP (e.g., Cookiebot, OneTrust) with granular categories and reject-all option.	2 days

Best Practices

• Start with a single framework and expand — SOC2 Security criteria overlap significantly with HIPAA Technical Safeguards and PCI-DSS, so the first framework provides a foundation.
• Map controls across frameworks to identify shared requirements and avoid duplicating effort on controls that satisfy multiple standards simultaneously.
• Use compliance automation platforms (Vanta, Drata, Secureframe) to continuously collect evidence rather than scrambling before audits.
• Document "Not Applicable" justifications formally — auditors will question every N/A item and require documented rationale.
• Set calendar reminders for recurring controls (quarterly access reviews, annual risk assessments, penetration tests) to avoid lapses between audit periods.
• Treat the checklist as a living document — update status weekly during active remediation and review quarterly once compliant.

Edge Cases

• Startups with no existing security program — Begin with a risk assessment to establish baseline. Many controls can be implemented quickly using cloud-native features (AWS CloudTrail, GitHub branch protection, Google Workspace security settings). Prioritize foundational policies first: information security, acceptable use, incident response.
• Multi-framework audits — When pursuing SOC2 + HIPAA + PCI-DSS simultaneously, build a unified control framework that maps each internal control to every applicable requirement across standards. Auditors may accept shared evidence for overlapping controls.
• Companies using serverless or PaaS architectures — Many infrastructure controls shift to the cloud provider under the shared responsibility model. Document which controls are inherited (physical security, hypervisor patching) versus which remain the customer's responsibility (application security, access management).
• Rapid growth or frequent organizational changes — Controls that depend on employee count or role structure (access reviews, security training completion) need processes that scale. Automate onboarding/offboarding checklists and tie security training to HR onboarding flows.
• Inherited compliance from acquisitions — When acquiring a company, their compliance status doesn't transfer automatically. Conduct a compliance gap assessment of the acquired entity and build an integration timeline for bringing them under your compliance umbrella.