A missing POA&M is a finding before your assessment even starts
Most DIB contractors either have no POA&M or have one built in a spreadsheet that doesn't map to their actual CMMC gaps. When a C3PAO assessor asks to review your Plan of Action & Milestones and you produce a generic template with placeholder text, it signals that your compliance program is performative. not operational.
A credible POA&M requires practice-level specificity: which requirement is not met, why, what the interim mitigation is, who owns remediation, and when it will be closed. That data can only come from a live requirements assessment. not a template.
1TEN's POA&M Tracker is directly connected to your Requirements Browser. Every practice marked Not Met automatically generates a POA&M item with the practice ID, description, and SPRS point impact pre-filled. You add the owner, due date, and mitigation. the structure is already there.
How CMMC POA&M tracking works in 1TEN
When you mark a requirement Not Met in the Requirements Browser, a POA&M item is created automatically. Each item captures the weakness description, linked CMMC practice, risk level, point of contact, due date, and current status. The dashboard gives you a real-time count of open, in-progress, closed, and overdue items. so nothing falls through the cracks ahead of your assessment.
- * POA&M items auto-created from Not Met requirements. practice ID, description, and SPRS point impact pre-populated
- * Risk level, point of contact, due date, and interim mitigation captured per item. the exact fields C3PAO assessors review
- * 180-day countdown tracked from certification date. overdue items escalated automatically so you never miss a closeout deadline
- * Filter by status, risk level, or domain to prioritize remediation work by SPRS point impact
- * Closing a POA&M item updates your SPRS score projection in real time. so you can model your certification readiness as you work
SPRS score projection based on your POA&M schedule
The most powerful feature of 1TEN's POA&M module isn't the tracker. it's the score projection. As you assign due dates to open items, the SPRS Score Analysis report calculates your projected score trajectory. You can see exactly what your score will be at certification and what it will reach when all items close.
The Remediation Priority table shows every Not Met practice ranked by SPRS point deduction. so your team knows exactly which gaps to close first for the highest score recovery. Each item links directly back to its POA&M entry and requirements assessment.
What the rules say about CMMC POA&M items
Not every open requirement can be deferred to a POA&M. Under CMMC Level 2 assessment rules, specific categories must be fully implemented at the time of assessment. attempting to carry them as POA&M items will result in a conditional or failed assessment.
| POA&M Category | Can Be Deferred? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1-point requirements | Yes. with conditions | Must close within 180 days of conditional certification |
| 3-point requirements | Yes. with conditions | Must close within 180 days of conditional certification |
| 5-point requirements | No | Must be fully implemented at assessment time |
| CUI protection requirements | No | Must be fully implemented at assessment time |
1TEN flags non-deferrable requirements in the Requirements Browser and POA&M Tracker so your team knows which gaps require immediate remediation versus which can be managed through the 180-day closeout process.
Why defense contractors choose 1TEN for POA&M management
Generic POA&M templates and standalone trackers create a documentation problem: your POA&M is disconnected from your actual assessment data. When your C3PAO asks to verify a closed item, you're manually cross-referencing spreadsheets instead of pointing to linked evidence.
Modules that work with POA&M Tracker
The POA&M Tracker is fed by the Requirements Browser and feeds the SPRS Score Analysis. every module shares the same underlying data so nothing requires manual synchronization.
30 minutes on a live 1TEN appliance. We'll show you how POA&M items auto-populate from your assessment data and how the score trajectory report works with your actual gaps.