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business continuity: plan development
On this page you can find articles, checklists andresources that will assist in
developing business continuity plans.
GENERAL
DOCUMENTS
A business continuity checklist MegaPath has developed a shortlist of common items that those developing their first business continuity plan should consider.
Read article •Type: Article •Region: USWorld •Level: Basic
A business continuity management primer Helmut Mair offers advice to those faced with developing their first business continuity plan. Read article •Type: Article •Region: Australia/World •Level: Basic
Beware of stereotypes… When developing an effective plan, input is needed from just about everyone. Be careful not to miss important contributions through stereotyping people. Read article •Type: Article •Region: USWorld •Level: Basic
Branding for value in business continuity program development What is your approach when you are hired by a company and given a blank piece of paper to develop a business continuity program? By Lawrence Robert, CBCP, CBRM, CBCLA.
Read article •Type: Article •Region: US/Worldwide •Level: Advanced
Business continuity and disaster recovery: making a start Dr. Jim Kennedy provides some helpful thoughts for those new to the profession. Read article •Type: Article •Region: USWorld •Level: Basic
Business continuity plan development Don’t use ‘scenario-based’ planning and don’t let the IT-tail wag the business continuity dog, says Chris Bakowski. Read article •Type: Article •Region: Worldwide •Level: Basic
Business
continuity plan development explored
You can’t just follow a recipe book says Kathleen Lucey, FBCI. Read
article •Type: Article •Region:
Worldwide •Level: Advanced
Business continuity planning for small businesses Just starting your first business continuity plan? Cole Seger provides some pointers.. Read article •Type: Article •Region: Worldwide •Level: Basic
Business
continuity planning - how long should it take?
About three months and never more than six, says Mel Gosling. Read
article •Type:
Article •Region: UK/Worldwide •Level:
Basic
Business
continuity on a limited budget
David Honour asks whether the priority should be given to crisis
management or plan development when funds are limited. Read
article •Type:
Article •Region: Worldwide •Level:
Basic
Calculating acceptable downtime John Robinson discusses the above subject and using the concept of maximum tolerable period of disruption as a tool.
Read article •Type:
Article •Region: Worldwide •Level:
Advanced
Case study: Britvic
Maximising resilience in the world of soft drink production: the Britvic continuity programme.
Read article •Type:
Article •Region: UK/Worldwide •Level:
Basic
Case study: Implementing business continuity in the upstream and midstream energy sector (petrochemicals and refineries) Business continuity planning in industrial sectors has a different emphasis than in service industries. Vincent Tombros explains. Read article •Type:
Article •Region: M.East/Worldwide •Level:
Advanced
Creating effective business continuity plans Barry Varley, CEO of independent testing consultancy Acutest, highlights the two main problems that lead to business continuity plans failing. Read article •Type: Article •Region: Worldwide •Level: Basic
Developing business continuity management within a local authority Andy Pepper, senior emergency management officer, explains how Cardiff Council has set about developing BC plans to meet the requirements of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.
Read article •Type: Article •Region: Worldwide •Level: Basic
FFIEC publishes updated business continuity planning guidance
New version of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s ‘Business Continuity Planning Booklet’ available. Read article •Type: Article •Region: US •Level: Various
‘Futureproofing’
- the process of active analysis Integrated
business continuity should be based on the concept of ‘graceful
degradation’ and ‘agile restoration’, says Geary
W. Sikich. Read
article •Type:
Article •Region: World •Level:
Advanced
Hazard identification and Business Impact Analysis
John Salter provides a paper which leads planners through the BIA process. Read article •Type: Article •Region: Worldwide •Level: Advanced
How good are your business continuity plans? Charlie Maclean-Bristol lists ten areas where many business continuity plans can be improved. Read article •Type:
Article •Region: UK / Worldwide •Level:
Advanced
How to build the perfect business continuity management soufflé... Chris Bakowski offers a recipe for business continuity success. Read article •Type: Article • Region: Australia/World •Level: Basic
How to define your recovery time objectives Defining the recovery time objectives (RTO) for your activities is one of the most critical things the business continuity manager will carry out. In this article Charlie Maclean-Bristol offers some practical advice on the subject. Read article •Type:
Article •Region: UK/Worldwide •Level:
Advanced
How to determine what are mission critical organisational activities Garry Poole explains the concept of ‘Activity Analysis’. Read article •Type: Article •Region: World •Level: Basic
How
to prioritise the BCP effort with recovery timeframe objectives
RTOs can and should be used to prioritise the entire planning process
says Doug Kavanagh. Read
article •Type:
Article •Region: World •Level:
Basic
Human resources: covering all the bases A human resources checklist for enterprise-wide business continuity plans. Read article •Type: Article •Region: Worldwide •Level: Advanced
IBHS launches business continuity planning tool to assist US small businesses The US Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) has announced the release of OFB-EZ: a new, free, business continuity planning tool. Read article •Type:
Article •Region: US •Level:
Basic
Lessons from the frontline Dr. Barbara Hillenbrand had her business continuity skills put to the test in the most extreme way; the plans she worked on were invoked during the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. In this article Barbara shares her thinking on how to develop a good business continuity plan. Read article •Type: Article •Region: US/World •Level: Basic
Making the most of the BIA Is the return on your BIA investment offset by the value of the results? James Mitchell looks at how to make sure it is. Read article •Type: Article •Region: World •Level: Basic
Managing complexity in your business continuity planning Ray Abide looks at the concepts of detail complexity and dynamic complexity in the context of business continuity planning. Read article •Type: Article •Region: Worldwide •Level: Advanced
Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption (MTPOD)
What is it, where did it come from and why is it important to your organization? Read article •Type: Article •Region: World •Level: Basic
Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption (MTPOD): BSI committee response Further to an article published recently by Continuity Central, Malcolm Cornish provides an update on the latest thinking on MTPOD. Read article •Type: Article •Region: World •Level: Advanced
One business continuity plan or many minis? What type of business continuity plans does an organization need? One all-inclusive plan? Many small, functional unit plans? John Glenn explores. Read article •Type: Article •Region: US/World •Level: Basic
Online Business Continuity Planning Starter Kit launched Florida’s Division of Emergency Management has developed ‘Starting Point’, a tool to help local businesses commence the business continuity planning process. Read article •Type: Article •Region: US •Level: Basic
Preparing a power failure response strategy Power outages are one of the most common causes of business disruption and a good response strategy requires much thought and planning. In this article Dr. Jim Kennedy explains the steps that should be taken. Read article •Type: Article •Region: US/World •Level: Advanced
Planning for people Peter Barnes, FBCI, argues that too few business continuity plans consider the ‘human variables’ and offers some guidance as to the issues to be addressed. Read article •Type: Article •Region: Worldwide •Level: Basic
RTO, MTPD and putting the cart before the horse How to calculate, rather than guess, your recovery time objectives: by Rainer Hübert, MBCI.. Read article •Type: Article •Region: World •Level: Advanced
Six Sigma and business continuity Jack Freson, Certified Black Belt in Six Sigma, explains how the methodology can be helpful in business continuity management. Read article •Type: Article •Region: US •Level: Basic
Struggling to plan? Rob Prinzo offers five strategic steps which will help business continuity managers become more effective planners. Read article •Type: Article •Region: Worldwide •Level: Basic
Successful
business continuity programs: be strategic from the start
A business continuity program should start with a well presented
business case and a clear roadmap. Mark Carey explains. Read
article •Type:
Article •Region: World •Level:
Basic
The business continuity policy statement Do you need a policy statement? And what does a good one look like? Read article •Type:
Article •Region: Worldwide •Level:
Basic
The features of good planning In this article John Salter explores the factors that influence good contingency planning and provides a framework to follow to develop an effective ‘emergency risk management framework'. Read article •Type: Article •Region: World •Level: Advanced
The five stages of pandemic response planning Charlie Straker provides a practical checklist to help business continuity managers develop pandemic response plans. Read article •Type: Article •Region: UK/Worldwide •Level: Basic
The key importance of understanding Recovery Point Objectives Garry Poole explains why RPOs are a vital tool for persuading senior management to invest in a business continuity programme.
Read article •Type: Article •Region: Worldwide •Level: Basic
Ten easy ways to improve your business continuity plan
Kevin Howells has audited and reviewed hundreds of BC and DR plans. Here he summarises the errors most frequently found during this process.
Read article •Type: Article •Region: World •Level: Advanced
Ten things that indicate top management support for business continuity A checklist to consider if a proposed business continuity management project would be a success based on the support offered by top management. By Sandesh Sheth. Read article •Type: Article •Region: US/Worldwide •Level: Basic
The use of templates in business continuity planning Brian Zawada explores the pros and cons of template use and provides some helpful tips. Read article •Type: Article •Region: US/Worldwide •Level: Basic
What to avoid... The ten most common mistakes people make when writing business continuity plans. By Charlie Maclean-Bristol. Read article •Type: Article •Region: UK/Worldwide •Level: Basic
When planning, put people first… Keith Pursall argues that paying more
attention to the people who business continuity plans are aimed
at will produce plans which are more effective in a crisis. Read
article •Type: Article •Region:
Worldwide •Level: Basic
When the writing’s on the wall…
How can you tell when a business continuity plan is doomed before it is even written? John Glenn highlights a couple of tell-tale signs.
Read article •Type: Article •Region: US/World •Level: Basic
Where
do I start in business continuity?
Taking the first few steps towards a business continuity management
approach can seem a very daunting task. Ian Dunlop provides some
useful advice. Read
article •Type: Article •Region:
UK/Worldwide •Level: Basic
Why your BIA method matters Stephen Massey provides an overview of the BIA process and describes a research project which looked at various BIA methods to determine which was the more effective and why this was the case. Read article •Type: Article •Region:
UK/Worldwide •Level: Advanced
BUSINESS
CONTINUITY CHECKLISTS, TEMPLATES and TOOLS
A major pandemic checklist and assessment matrix What factors should be considered when developing a business continuity plan for pandemic scenarios? Ian Rogers offers some useful checklist style advice. Read article •Type: Article • Region: Worldwide • Level: Advanced
Business
Continuity/Disaster Recovery Management checklist A checklist to use when developing a
BC plan. Word document. Go
to checklist
•Type: Link •Region:
Worldwide •Level: Basic
Business continuity and disaster recovery checklist for small business owners A new resource from Capital One. Read article •Type: Article •Region: North America •Level: Basic
Business
Continuity Maturity Model
Version 1.2 introduces a methodology that can be used by companies
to perform self-assessments. Read
article •Type: News article •Region:
N.America/Worldwide •Level: Advanced
Business impact assessment and damage reporting for effective crisis management
This practical paper outlines an approach to integrating business impact assessment into crisis management in order to strengthen the quality of information based decision making. Read article •Type: Article • Region: Worldwide • Level: Advanced
Business Link business continuity guidance Overview and links to useful documents
and templates, published by the UK government's Business Link network. Read
article
•Type: Link •Region:
UK •Level: Basic
Checklist criteria for business recovery FEMA document. According to the introduction:
The intent of this checklist is to provide a means of creating a
business recovery manual for your business. The manual would be
used by you in the event that you had to execute a recovery of you
business due to a natural or man-made disaster. This checklist can
be used by manufacturers, corporate offices, retailers, utilities
or any organisation where a sizeable number of people work or gather.
If you already have a plan, use this checklist as a resource to
apply business controls to the plan, if needed, or to assess the
overall readiness and maintenance of your plan documentation.
The checklist is divided into four sections:
* LEVEL 1: Executive Awareness/Authority
* LEVEL 2: Plan Development and Documentation
* LEVEL 3: Management and Recovery Team Assessment and Evaluation
for Effectiveness
* LEVEL 4: Management and Recovery Team Assessment of Readiness
and Plan Maintenance Go
to checklist
•Type: Link •Region:
Worldwide •Level: Advanced
Interactive
business continuity launch pad Comprehensive guide to business continuity
planning. Contains a set of dozens of webpages designed to help
you plot the best way forward in the creation of an appropriate
disaster recovery and business continuity plan. Go
to checklist
•Type: Link •Region:
Worldwide •Level: Basic
NASD
Small Firm Template for a business continuity plan
Aimed at helping smaller financial sector firms develop business
continuity plans, but useful for companies in other sectors too. Read
article •Type:
Link •Region: Worldwide •Level:
Advanced
Performing
The Business Impact Analysis
A BIA checklist (Word document) Read
article •Type: Link •Region:
Worldwide •Level: Basic
Risk
and resource checklist
Word document Go
to page •Type: Link •Region:
Worldwide •Level: Basic
Risk register and assessment tool for download Emergency Preparedness Capacity Builders has provided an Excel-based Risk register and assessment tool for free download and use by Continuity Central readers. Read article •Type: Article •Region: Worldwide •Level: Advanced
BUSINESS
CONTINUITY INSTITUTE RESOURCES
Good Practice in Business Continuity Management guidelines
Detailed business continuity advice. Go there
