The most basic form of business continuity plan (BCP) testing is a plan review. This foundational exercise ensures the theoretical soundness and accuracy of your organization's recovery strategies.
Understanding the Plan Review
A plan review is a meticulous examination of the Business Continuity Plan itself. During this process, recovery teams and relevant stakeholders go through the BCP line by line. The primary objective is to verify that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and that the plan is comprehensive and "shipshape."
Key aspects of a plan review include:
- Documentation Verification: Checking all listed contact information, vendor agreements, recovery procedures, and resource allocations for correctness.
- Role and Responsibility Clarity: Ensuring that assigned roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and understood by all team members.
- Gap Identification: Pinpointing any missing elements, outdated procedures, or inconsistencies within the plan.
- Strategy Validation: Confirming that the documented strategies align with current business operations and organizational objectives.
Why is a Plan Review Essential?
Despite being the simplest form of testing, a plan review offers significant benefits that lay the groundwork for more advanced testing scenarios.
- Cost-Effectiveness: It requires minimal resources and causes no disruption to daily operations, making it a highly efficient first step.
- Foundation for Deeper Tests: A thorough plan review ensures that the written plan is robust and free of errors before resources are committed to more complex simulations or actual drills. It prevents wasted effort on an inaccurate or incomplete plan.
- Team Familiarity: This exercise helps recovery teams and stakeholders become intimately familiar with their roles, responsibilities, and the overall structure and content of the BCP. This familiarity is crucial for effective execution during an actual incident.
- Early Identification of Issues: Inaccuracies, outdated information, or logical flaws in the plan can be identified and corrected early, preventing potential failures during a crisis.
- Stakeholder Alignment: It serves as an opportunity to ensure that all involved parties are on the same page regarding recovery objectives and methodologies.
How a Plan Review is Conducted
Typically, a plan review is a collaborative meeting-based exercise involving key personnel from various departments, including IT, operations, HR, and senior management. It often involves:
- Scheduled Sessions: Dedicated time slots are set aside for teams to systematically review specific sections of the BCP.
- Guided Discussions: A facilitator may lead discussions, prompting questions and clarifications on various plan components.
- Feedback Collection: All feedback, proposed changes, and identified issues are meticulously documented for subsequent updates to the BCP.
- Action Item Assignment: Responsibilities are assigned for addressing identified gaps or making necessary revisions.
For more information on various business continuity plan testing scenarios, you can explore resources like Invenio IT.
