Completing an RFx or Security Questionnaire in Iris

Before You Begin

If it is your first time, the upload process typically takes ~5 minutes from start to finish. You'll need:

• An RFx or security questionnaire file (or use our sample)

  Security Questionnaire Example.xlsx

• Make sure Iris is ready to read your document

• Basic project details like name and due date

Step 1: Create a Project

1. Navigate to the Projects page from the main navigation bar

2. Select Create Project in the top-right corner

3. Input Project Name, Due Date, Deal Owner

4. (optional) Input Customer Name, Deal Size, and Description (description is internal only, and will not impact answer generation)

5. Upload your file by dragging it into the upload area or selecting it from your computer

   New! Now you can upload multiple files to the same project. See Project Folders for more

6. Note on each file whether it is a Response file (document that contains questions or requirements that requires a response) or a Context file (additional information that pertains to the opportunity i.e. Appendix, Statement of Work)

1. Uploading a Narrative-Style PDF ⁉: When uploading a PDF, you can choose between two parsing modes:

   • Standard Extraction — best for structured questionnaires where questions are already clearly listed

   • AI Parsing — designed for narrative-style RFPs where requirements are written in paragraphs. Check the File requires AI parsing box and Iris will intelligently extract and structure the content for you

   Both options support click-to-scroll highlighting so you can always trace an answer back to its source in the original document.

2. Click Create

Don't have a questionnaire handy? Here's a sample one:

Step 2: Fill Out Project Details

1. Input a Project Reviewer and Tags

2. (optional) Input Project Context -- info about which sources you want Iris to pay extra attention to

3. (optional) Input Instructions -- how you want the answers styled and formatted

4. Click Next to proceed.

Step 3: Question Mapping

For Excel Files:

If your project is an Excel file, select Auto-Annotate for single-tab files, or Annotate All Sheets for multi-tab files. Iris will auto-detect Sections, Questions, Answer fields, and Dropdown fields with the click of a button.

Once every tab is annotated, quickly review each one to ensure accuracy, then select Start Project.

Multi-Column Format NOW SUPPORTED

The New "Header" Type

The Header annotation type is used to mark the column header rows at the top of your spreadsheet — rows like "Vendor Answers," "Additional Information," "Guidance," and "Analyst Notes." When Iris identifies a row as a header, every answer cell in that column automatically inherits that column label. This label is then passed directly into Iris's inference process, so Iris knows precisely what type of response is expected in each field.

Previously, Iris had no way to distinguish between columns or understand what a given answer cell was supposed to contain. The Header type solves this — it gives Iris the context it needs to generate accurate, column-appropriate answers.

Screenshot placeholder: Staging area with header rows highlighted in a distinct color (pink/salmon), with the "Mark as Header" option selected in the left panel and multiple annotated columns (Vendor Answers, Additional Information, Guidance) visible across the spreadsheet

Vertical Answer Layouts

Some questionnaires place the answer cell directly below the question rather than side-by-side. Iris now supports this format. A few things to keep in mind:

• Auto-Annotate will detect vertical layouts automatically: no extra steps needed

• The answer cell must be in the row immediately below the question: gaps or multiple answer rows beneath a single question won't be picked up correctly

• For manual annotation, select the cell directly beneath the question and click Mark as Answer Cell as usual (more on this in this next section).

Alternatively, Manual Column Selection:

If you opt for a manual annotation, you'll need to select the following:

1. Highlight the Questions: Select the questions in your document then click Mark as Question on the left

2. Highlight the Answers: Select the answers in your document then click Mark as Answer Cell on the left

3. (optional) Highlight the Dropdowns: Select the dropdowns in your document then click Mark as Dropdown on the left

4. (optional) Highlight Sections: Select the Sections in your document then click Mark as Sections on the left

5. (optional) Highlight Context cells: Select the cells that give more context to the question, then click Mark as Context on the left

6. Highlight Header row cells for Multicolumn support. Select Mark as Header

1. (optional) Give Sections Unique Tags, Assignees, or Instructions: Click the name of a Section (at the bottom of the left-hand navbar) to generate those questions with special parameters. Any questions you don't mark here will get the tags, assignees, and instructions you selected on the previous step.

2. When finished, select Start Project

Note: Clear All will remove the entire mapping of the sheet you are on. Clear Selection will undo only the selected cells

Cleaning Up Annotation Errors

Mistakes during annotation are easy to fix. Here are the most common issues and how to handle them:

• Marked the wrong cells? Use Clear Selection to undo only the cells you currently have highlighted, without affecting the rest of your mapping

• Want to start fresh? Use Clear All to wipe the entire annotation on the sheet you're on and re-annotate from scratch

• Orphaned annotations (cells marked but no longer mapping to a valid question) can now be cleared out with the Clear All button in one click — useful if you've edited the file after a partial annotation and things are out of sync

• Marked a question without an answer cell? Make sure every question has a corresponding answer/dropdown cell selected. Questions without answer cells will not generate a response

For PDF/DOCX Files:

Iris will display the original file on the left and the extracted or summarized questions on the right. Edit, delete, and confirm that all the questions and sections have been copied over appropriately using +Add Question or the Pencil or Trash icons.

Want to reorder how the questions/sections are ordered? Simply grab the left side of the question or section and drag them up or down to reorder. This can also be accomplished in bulk by selecting multiple questions at once and dragging to reorder.

When finished, select Submit for Processing

Re-staging Excel Docs: Re-open a Project Without Starting Over

Sometimes a project doesn't end when you think it does. Maybe a new batch of questions came in after you'd already finalized everything, or a stakeholder added rows to the original file after submission. Instead of starting a brand new project from scratch, re-staging lets you re-open any finalized Excel project and annotate the additional questions — without disturbing any of the work you've already approved.

Your previously approved answers stay locked and intact. Only the new questions get added to the review queue, so your team can pick up right where they left off rather than wading through a full project again.

To get started, re-staging needs to be enabled for your organization. Reach out to your CSM to turn it on.

Don't see this feature? Ask your CSM to enable it for your org.

Step 4: Completing Projects in Iris

Once submitted, Iris will begin generating answers. Let’s explore how to monitor and refine your project:

1. Question Statuses:

   • Generating Answer: Iris is currently working on an answer to the question.

   • Needs Review: Iris has finished answering and is ready for the assignee to edit, adjust, regenerate, reassign, or approve the answer.

   • Approved: This answer is ready for prime time. When you approve the entire project, the information provided will be added to your Knowledge Map with the Approved Answers tag.

   • Unapprove?: To revert a question from Approved to Needs Review

2. Answer Area: Edit, adjust, or regenerate the answer as needed, then select Needs Review to change the question's status to Approved. Any edits you make will save automatically. You can see a log of all changes within View History.

3. Dropdowns: If you added a dropdown column, you'll be able to pick from all the options in the dropdown column here. When you export the project, Iris will fill in the dropdowns with your selections.  

4. Assignee: Know someone else who’s got the answer? Is the answer in someone else’s domain? Add a user or group to the project and assign them to answer a question (see Roles and User Groups in Iris).

5. Search the text of questions and answers in your project. 

6. Bulk Actions: Click the check box next to any question to open the Bulk Actions Menu. From here you can Select All questions, bulk Approve, bulk Unapprove, bulk Reassign, bulk Regenerate, or bulk Delete questions.

   1. Select All (no filters) will select every question in the project

   2. Select All Filtered will select every question you currently have filtered

   3. Select Visible will select all currently loaded questions

   4. Click the X to deselect all questions

7. Confidence Score: Answers are rated Contradictory, Low, Medium, High confidence. Hover over the score to see the Confidence Explanation. Learn more about Confidence Scores.

8. Question Controls

• Sources (in blue): Click on a source name to view the relevant snippets of sources Iris used to generate the answer.

• Attach Evidence: Attach a file from your computer to the answer. When you export, toggle on "Include Attachments" to download the project file, a folder with all your attachments, and a question mapping matrix that links each question with each file

• Comments: Write comments on the question, Use "@" to tag an Iris user.

• View History: See an audit trail of all edits made to an answer, question status changes, regenerations, and more.

• Notify: Iris will send an email and Slack notification to the Assignee with a link to the question.

  (To notify everyone on the project with outstanding questions, select More Actions at the top, then Notify Unapproved)

  

9. Regenerate Answer: Regenerate the question using different tags, cited sources, question context, or custom instructions. You can also regenerate while omitting specific sources.

10. Project Icons:

• Edit Project -- Change project details like Name, description, Project Participants and Groups

• Manage Participants: Add users or groups to your project.

• More Actions

  • Add New Question -- add a new question to your project, and place it under the Section of your choice

  • Notify Unapproved -- notify everyone on the project with outstanding questions

  • Export Project -- export your project to CSV, DOCX, or XLSX. Optionally include Attachments or Cited Files (if permissions allow).

  • Focus Mode -- review questions one at a time in a clean overlay. Arrow keys to navigate. Approve, edit, or skip without ever losing your spot. Auto-save means nothing gets lost.

Reviewing Multi-Column Answers in the Project

After Iris processes your file, open the project to review the generated answers. You will immediately notice the new layout for questions that have multiple answer columns.

The Answer Tab Bar

Each question that contains multiple answer columns now displays a tab bar directly beneath the question text. Each tab represents one answer column from your original spreadsheet and is labeled with the column header name (e.g., Answer A, Answer B, Dropdown answer C, Dropdown answer D).

• Tabs are lettered (A, B, C, D…) and labeled with the column header name detected during annotation.

• Each tab shows a colored indicator dot reflecting the current status of that specific answer.

• Use the left and right arrows on either end of the tab bar to scroll through answers if there are more than can be displayed at once.

• The "switch" control on the right allows you to toggle the view.

• The total number of answers for that question is shown in the top-right corner of the question card (e.g., "4 answers").

📸 Screenshot placeholder: Project detail page showing a question card with the tab bar visible — tabs labeled Answer A, Answer B, Dropdown answer C, Dropdown answer D — with one tab active and highlighted, colored status dots on each tab, and the "4 answers" count in the top right

Step 6: Exporting Your Project

To export your project, select the More Actions button in the top-right corner, then choose Export.

• You can export your project to CSV, DOCX, or XLSX. Optionally include Attachments, Comments (DOCX), and Cited Files (if permissions allow).

• If you are looking to export back out to the Original source File, this only applies to XLSX-->XLSX export and DOCX-->DOCX export

  • With DOCX export, you will be provided a preview of the export where you can further format and place the answers in their desired locations

• If you want to see what other participants have exported a project, you can view this under Export Project-->History

You can also export for your project from the main Projects page

FAQs

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