Presenting your business impact analysis methodology to your company

Presenting your business impact analysis methodology to your company

I have completed all the forms associated with my business impact analysis (BIA). What's the best way to present this information back to the business?

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You should start by grouping the functions by their recoverability order. Start with the business function name, expected recovery time, staff level (include names and titles), and whatever else is required. I would submit this to the business area for review just to make sure their expectations are met. I don't know what makes sense for your organization, but timeframes of fewer than two hours, two to 8 hours, 8 to 24 hours, 24 to 72 hours, and more than 72 hours are usually sufficient.

Keep in mind that the business side may not necessarily be familiar with business continuity concepts and may need additional explanation for the document you provide. Take the time to review and go over the disaster recovery plan with them and associated departments to make sure that all expectations are met. Also, be sure to explain to them that they may be operating in "manual" mode for a period of time and that all required overrides should be in place.

Key items that your organization should be aware of include:

  • The recovery timeframe
  • What's needed in the recovery (people, equipment)
  • When the resources will be available
  • Staff-level resources (who will work from where)
  • Processes that will be manual until automation is available
  • Identify the contact person to keep them aware of the recovery status

Keep the BIA document short and to the point; it's ideal if your business impact analysis is a checklist. No one wants to go through a long and complicated document when they are rushed.

For more information, check out this to learn about 10 things you don't want in your business impact analysis.

 

This was first published in November 2010

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