Disaster Recovery Journal

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Kathleen Aris, CMP
SunGard Availability Services Inc.

By BOBBY WILLIAMS, MBCI, MBCP

Anna M. Bathon, MBCI, CBCP Bank of America

Do the instructions on the shampoo bottle remind you of the life cycle for your BC program? If not, maybe your program needs a “proper” haircut. In May of 1979, I met a barber at the Fort Sill Reception Station that changed my hairstyling forever. I no longer focused on which side the part was on.

Of course, how to get your program on a life cycle would depend on the infamous question, “What is the scope of your program?” Some people put on the business continuity hat only when an audit is eminent. The rest of the time, they do their other project management tasks. Some programs seem as if the life cycle is a living organism. It has become like an infant crying for its bottle at the most inopportune times.

Let’s look at a simple strategy to get your program on a life cycle you can feed, nurture, and be proud of. (Of course, you may have to change a few diapers before you get it completely potty trained.) Looking at the calendar, we notice there are 12 months. The BCI Good Practice Guide has six sections. What about two months per section?

January and February

Policy and Program(me) Management

Spend this time reviewing and updating your program organization and the policies and procedures necessary to make your program function. This may not be a trivial process in a large organization due to the steps necessary to change a policy or a procedure. When I worked in the nuclear power industry, I learned even the procedure to change a light bulb was planned out in detail. All of the necessary safety concerns were studied and approved by very senior people and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. To suggest a change would take months of review just to consider a modified procedure.

March and April

Embedding BCM in the Organization’s Culture

This is a good time to meet with your program’s executive sponsor and bring him/her up to speed on the progress, problems, and potential. It would also be a good time to have your internal marketing or HR department highlight business continuity in an internal publication or write an article for DRJ. For some areas of the country, just watching the weather can bring your program back into the spotlight.

May and June

Understanding the Organization

Use this time to review the business impact analysis
(BIA) and your risk assessments. Time passes, weather
changes, and stuff happens. Review the company’s
marketing material and see if there is a new product or
service you didn’t know about. Has your CEO decided
to acquire a new company? Maybe the real estate
folks are looking to move your only production
facility to a new location. Risk assessments
and BIA’s have to be reviewed and renewed.