During aCMMC assessment, organizations must provide evidence to demonstrate compliance with requiredpractices and processes. Assessors evaluate this evidence based on two key criteria:
Adequacy– Does the evidence meet the intent of the security requirement?
Sufficiency– Is there enough evidence to reasonably conclude that the practice/process is effectively implemented?
These principles are outlined in theCMMC Assessment Process Guide, which provides a structured approach for evaluating compliance.
Step-by-Step Breakdown:✅1. Adequacy – Does the evidence fully meet the requirement?
Adequacyrefers to whether the evidence properly demonstrates that the security practice has been implemented as required.
Example: If an organization claims to enforceMulti-Factor Authentication (MFA), an assessor would checksystem configurations, login policies, and user authentication logsto confirm that MFA is actually in use.
✅2. Sufficiency – Is there enough evidence to support the claim?
Sufficiencymeans that there isenough supporting evidenceto prove compliance.
Example: If an organization providesonly one screenshot of an MFA login screen, that alone may not besufficient—additional logs, policies, and user records would help strengthen the case.
(B) Adequacy and Thoroughness❌
Thoroughnessis not a defined metric in CMMC evidence evaluation.
The focus is onwhether the evidence meets the requirement (adequacy)and if there isenough of it (sufficiency).
(C) Sufficiency and Thoroughness❌
Thoroughnessis not a recognized term in CMMC compliance validation.
Evidence must beadequate and sufficient, not just thorough.
(D) Sufficiency and Appropriateness❌
Appropriatenessis not a CMMC-defined criterion.
Thecorrect terms used in CMMC assessmentsareAdequacy(Does it meet the requirement?) andSufficiency(Is there enough proof?).
Why the Other Answer Choices Are Incorrect:
CMMC Assessment Process Guideexplicitly states that evidence must be evaluated based onadequacyandsufficiencyto confirm compliance with security practices.
Final Validation from CMMC Documentation:
