Testing, Exercising & Evaluation

We've said it before... if you haven't tested your business continuity/disaster recovery plan, you could be in for a big surprise when it doesn't work. Do you really want the continuation of your business - and possibly the lives of your employees - to rely on a plan that's never been tested? We think not. Take a look at this week's articles to see what you can do to see how well your plan works and whether you will be able to count on the plan working when needed.

Here are 19 tips for great desktop exercises. (Item #1)   Look your plan over - is it time to dust it off and see if it works? (Item #2)   If nobody understands what to do, the plan will fail, no matter how good you think it is. (Item #3)  

There are many ways to test the plan, but it must be tested. (Item #4)   See what the experts have to say about why plans aren't tested and how we can improve this situation. (Item #5)   Always remember that the people are the most important thing. (Item #6)  

As always, we look forward to hearing your comments & insights regarding business continuity. If you have a topic you'd like us to cover, email me at [email protected].

Bob Mellinger, President
Attainium Corp

1. Top tips for fantastic business continuity desktop exercises

Desktop exercises are instrumental in getting staff and others involved in business continuity, especially if they're - dare I say it - interesting and fun for those taking part. To help in making your exercises successful, here are 19 top tips, listed in no particular order:
http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature0939.html

2. Time to Brush off Your Disaster Recovery Plan?

As I write this, the top news story is about a cruise ship that ran aground in the Mediterranean. Reports are that the captain and officers did little to help passengers get off the ship safely. Hearing about this type of tragedy gets me thinking about how well any of us are prepared to deal with disruptions of smaller magnitudes. Whether it's an Amazon cloud outage that brought down numerous websites or instability created by the Missoni launch at Target, are companies effectively prepared to recover and continue with business as (nearly) usual?
http://www.tmcnet.com/call-center/departments/articles/283539-time-brush-off-disaster-recovery-plan.htm

3. Enough is enough...

Business continuity managers should be shocked by such a failure, since an untested business continuity plan or strategy may be worthless. It may not be: but until it is tested its efficacy is unknown. Similarly an unexercised business continuity plan is significantly degraded simply because it is unexercised. Efficiency is gained through practice. If a plan is not exercised, time will be lost and mistakes will be made as people attempt to understand their role and initiate unfamiliar actions.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature0896.html

4. Business Continuity Plan Testing

A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) must be tested and updated on a regular basis to ensure its effectiveness in the event of a disaster and its continuing relevance to the business. The type of test undertaken should be commensurate with the BCP's maturity, the needs of the business and be economically viable. It is essential however, that the full BCP is tested at least once a year.
http://www.chartisinsurance.com/chartis/internet/uk/eni/Chartis%20Insight%20-%20Business%20Continuity%20Plan%20Testing%20Rev%20A%20AI378051%201211_tcm2538-372646.pdf

5. Improving business continuity testing and exercising

Continuity Central asked various business continuity experts why it seems that many organizations neglect the area of testing and exercising and what individual organizations can do to improve. Each expert was asked the same three questions were asked and the various comments received in response are summarized here.
http://www.continuitycentral.com/feature0596.html

6. Disaster recovery: keeping employees safe

Most disaster recovery plans focus on technology some take into account corporate assets, such as premises and vehicles but very few consider the people issues involved when a company is knocked sideways by an unforeseen event. It's a worrying oversight, because the skills and commitment of staff are essential to the survival of any company that finds itself hit by a fire, flood or similar calamity, says Ron Miller, managing consultant at disaster recovery specialist SunGard Availability Services.
http://www.red24.com/uploads/crm/personneltodayinterview.pdf