Updating the plan update
I was talking to a business continuity manager colleague recently about the misgivings he was having over an impending update of his business continuity plan. The task was unavoidable as it was an established event long scheduled into his BCM programme, but his reluctance was obvious. There was no debate from the BC manager over the importance of the plan update, which his organisation conducted every 12 months. It was essential to ensure that the business continuity plan continued to accurately reflect the detail of the organisation’s operations, priorities, resources and personnel. It was just that the process had become routine and time consuming, and he felt that many of the departments were going through the motions, reluctantly. We discussed several ideas to refresh the business continuity plan update process. This included trying email contact only, running discussion and update workshops and using scenario exercises as a route to evaluate and capture plan update information. At the same time, I suggested that perhaps it was the BCP itself that may be part of the problem. The organisation’s annual business continuity plan update process always focused on the content of the document, but never considered the ‘look and feel’ of the plan, its navigability, ease of use and maintenance. Certainly, the information provided by the departments during the update did not include feedback or suggestions on the usability of the plan itself. I think it’s fair to say that few organisations take the time in the annual business continuity plan update process to assess the document for its accessibility, brevity and overall user friendliness. A natural response may often be ‘why bother?’, taking into account the degree of difficulty and effort involved in updating just the essential information content in the BCP. A business continuity plan is both a guidebook and reference source; and an instruction manual for managing a crisis response. Like the manual for a new digital camera or digital HD Recorder, it can frustrate the user greatly if the document is hard to navigate, contradictory or confusing. Moreover, a BCP needs to be designed for use under stress and time pressure, in demanding and unfamiliar situations. This is why it is important for the BCP to have a well designed lay-out that helps the reader to move through the pages. The content should be carefully considered, presenting the information in a sequence that matches, as closely as possible, the order in which it will be required in a crisis. Too often, a business continuity plan can reach telephone directory proportions if the content of the plan is not judiciously monitored. The process of creating a BCP certainly creates huge amounts of data, but it doesn’t all have to go into the finished plan. Why impose on the reader the need to wade through pages of preamble and pointless background exposition before allowing them access to the information they actually need. One simple way to separate out the chaff is to ask, “if we won’t need the information in a crisis, why is it in the BCP?” Of course, the BCP also needs to serve as a relevant source of reference. Most of the reference information will be collected in appendices at the back of the plan document, but are the appendices frequently and accurately cross-referenced in the main body of the plan? How does the reader know what useful information is stored in the appendices or when to access it? The use of visual aids, tables, flowcharts, checklists, tabs, coloured pages, and other graphic devices is an excellent way to streamline the business continuity plan, reduce its bulk and enhance its ease of use. If you possess limited design skills, you could seek the advice of a graphic designer, and treat the next BCP update, not just as a content review, but also as an exercise in effective presentation. Author: Tim Janes, MBCI, is a director of Fulcrum Risk Services. He can be contacted at tim.janes@fulcrumrisk.com This article is published courtesy of Continuity Forum News, the newsletter of Continuity Forum Pty Ltd www.continuity.net.au
•Date: 7th July 2008• Region: Australia/World •Type: Article •Topic: BC general |
