Test your plan
Your Business Continuity Plans cannot be considered reliable until they have been proved to be workable and your staff are familiar with their roles. The process for achieving this should be broken down into achievable modules which build upon each other.
- Validating plans: This can be achieved by conducting a walk through of the plan with key staff, providing the opportunity for discussion of the arrangements and potential revisions.
- Rehearsing staff: A scenario based table top exercise is likely to offer the most efficient method of providing your staff with the opportunity to understand their roles within the plan. It should be designed to bring the appropriate staff together and prompt them to take decisions as a scenario unfolds, in very much the same way they would in the event of a real incident.
- Testing systems and processes: Individual component testing might include system tests (backup systems, data and communications), the plan activation process and staff callout (telephone tree).
Use these simple exercises as part of your training and testing schedule
Simple Business Continuity Audit Checklist
Other Useful Materials
Resources from the Business Continuity Institute
