What does conducting a system walk-through typically help assess?

Conducting a system walk-through primarily helps assess the security posture and controls of an organization. This process involves physically or virtually reviewing systems, processes, and environments to identify potential vulnerabilities and to evaluate how well the current security measures are implemented. During a walk-through, assessors can examine how security policies are applied, how controls are functioning, and whether there are any gaps that could be exploited by threats. The focus is on understanding the effectiveness of security controls and overall risk management practices, which is crucial for ensuring that systems are adequately protected against potential threats.

In the context of the other options, while employee productivity, network performance metrics, and cost efficiency of operations may be valuable areas to assess separately, they do not align directly with the primary focus of a system walk-through. Such assessments are geared towards operational performance rather than an evaluation of security measures, which is the essential purpose of conducting a system walk-through.