Heat maps are graphical representations of data that use color-coding to show the relative intensity,

frequency, or magnitude of a variable1. Heat maps can be used to visualize the criticality of the cloud

services in an organization, along with their dependencies and risks, by mapping the cloud services

to different dimensions, such as business impact, availability, security, performance, cost, etc. Heat

maps can help auditors identify the most important or vulnerable cloud services, as well as the

relationships and trade-offs among them2.

For example, Azure Charts provides heat maps for various aspects of Azure cloud services, such as

updates, trends, pillars, areas, geos, categories, etc3. These heat maps can help auditors understand

the current state and dynamics of Azure cloud services and compare them across different

dimensions4.

Contractual documents of the cloud service provider are the legal agreements that define the terms

and conditions of the cloud service, including the roles, responsibilities, and obligations of the

parties involved. They may provide some information on the criticality of the cloud services in an

organization, but they are not as visual or comprehensive as heat maps. Data security process flow is

a diagram that shows the steps and activities involved in protecting data from unauthorized access,

use, modification, or disclosure. It may help auditors understand the data security controls and risks

of the cloud services in an organization, but it does not cover other aspects of criticality, such as

business impact or performance. Turtle diagram is a tool that helps analyze a process by showing its

inputs, outputs, resources, criteria, methods, and interactions. It may help auditors understand the

process flow and dependencies of the cloud services in an organization, but it does not show the

relative importance or risks of each process element.

Reference:

What is a Heat Map? Definition from WhatIs.com1, section on Heat Map

Cloud Computing Security Considerations | Cyber.gov.au2, section on Cloud service criticality

Azure Charts - Clarity for the Cloud3, section on Heat Maps

Azure Services Overview4, section on Heat Maps

Cloud Services Due Diligence Checklist | Trust Center, section on How to use the checklist

Data Security Process Flow - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics, section on Data Security Process

Flow

What is a Turtle Diagram? Definition from WhatIs.com, section on Turtle Diagram