Exercising the Business Continuity Plan

If you're not buried under some of the historic inches/feet of snow that have fallen in various locations of the US, you likely feel sorry for the folks getting all that weather but you're also glad it's not you. But what if you pretend it is you? Wouldn't this winter weather (not to mention flooding and fires on the west coast) be a good scenario for testing your business continuity plan? What would you do if it was your business under all that snow or  in that flooding this week? Dust off your BC plan, take a look at this week's articles, and do a table-top simulation of how you would survive Mother Nature's wrath!

Exercises are used to testing emergency plans but they are also useful events to run when actually writing plans and procedures because they help generate discussions and stimulate thinking on what the contents of the plan could be. (Item #1)   A program of training, exercises, and tests moves plans beyond the concept stage, provides training opportunities for employees, and helps identify needed corrections in procedures and plans.  (Item #2)   Testing business recovery plans is an important step to validate and check its content and approaches, ensuring that plans are actionable before a possible real disruption.  (Item #3)

A TTX is a facilitated scenario-based discussion that tests a plan in a protected environment. (Item #4)   How can business continuity professionals conduct more effective exercises? (Item #5)   Download this free business continuity test template and guide to learn how to conduct a successful test.  (Item #6)


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